Into the Future
by Twiki99
Summary: When Voyager discovers a wormhole that might lead them home, They find that there is more to the wormhole than they expected.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Into The Future  
>Author: Twiki99<br>Date Posted: January 2012  
>Rating: K<br>Codes: T. Paris  
>Archive: Here anywhere else. Please ask first<br>Disclaimer: _Paramount and Viacom own Star Trek and all Characters of Star Trek. The story is mine. I am not making a dime on this. I am doing this and other stories for purely mine and others enjoyment._  
>Summary: When Voyager discovers a wormhole that might lead them home, They find that there is more to the wormhole than they expected. Feedback is welcome.<p>

Chapter One

The Alpha shift had been quite boring and all who were on the bridge were very quiet. Even Tom had been silent over the last hour, not even cracking one joke. It was just so unusual. The Captain had retired to her ready room over two hours ago and now Chakotay was wishing he could find an excuse to join her. He sat there in the big chair and watched the back of Tom's head as he flew the grand lady. He turned his head and looked over to Harry, who was busy checking the long range sensors. The only one on the bridge that seem normal was Tuvok, who was obviously enjoying the absence of Tom's banter. Chakotay realized that he missed the lively chatter on the bridge. It made for a much better day. This somber atmosphere was for the gamma shift, he decided.

They had been traveling through an uneventful part of space and had not so much as met any space faring race in over six months. They hadn't even come upon any inhabited planet for so long he was beginning to think they were the only people in this sector. He turned back to the front and watched the stars that were streaking by. He sighed and continued to look at the view screen.

Suddenly, Harry spoke up

"Commander, long range sensors have picked up an anomaly bearing 354 mark 12 . It may be a wormhole."

Chakotay perked up and turned to Ensign Kim and said

"Can you verify it is a wormhole?"

Harry was busy with the readings and didn't immediately answer but then he looked up and said

"Not at this distance, we would need to get closer to it."

Chakotay nodded and then tapped his communicator and said

"Chakotay to the Captain, we have picked up reading on long range sensors that may be a wormhole."

Within seconds, the Captain came out of her ready room and joined them on the bridge. Chakotay got up from the big chair and moved to his own as the Captain came up behind Tom and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. It was something she did when she was concentrating on the issue at hand. He was use to it and derived a sense of comfort from the gesture. She stood for a moment without moving, just staring out the view port before she turned and said to Harry

"Mr Kim, what do we have?"

"It's an anomaly that could be a wormhole, but at this distance, the sensors are not giving out much information on it."

She turned and looked at Chakotay and a mutual understanding passed between them. After a moment, she again turned towards Tom and said

"Mr Paris, change course towards the anomaly warp six, lets see what's out there."

"Yes ma'am"

The anticipation on the bridge jump a thousand fold as they knew they were on their way to see something new. Tom gracefully banked Voyager to the new course and she smoothly gained speed as he upped the engines to warp six.

It had been three hours since they had changed course and Tom estimated that it would be another half hour till they reached the co-ordinates of the anomaly. As he sat at the Conn, he let his mind drift a bit. Was it a stable wormhole and where did it lead? They had come across several ones since they were in the DQ, but either they were not stable,or lead no where near home. Not that he really wanted to get back to the AQ, he had nothing to go home to, but he knew the crew were missing their families and friends. But his home was here, on Voyager, and even though he considered the crew his family, he hoped this wormhole prove to be stable and lead to the AQ for the crew's sake.

He turned slightly in his chair and looked at his best friend. Harry, whom he thought of as his little brother. He knew that he wanted to get home very badly and now he was very intent on his readings. He hoped for Harry's sake, they would. His thoughts turned to the Captain and Chakotay and wondered what they were thinking. If they got home, would they finally act on their feeling for each other? The whole crew knew that they had a special relationship and Tom wondered when they would admit it to themselves. He smiled to himself and moved his thoughts to their stoic resident Vulcan. Was Tuvok looking forward to getting back home? He knew the Vulcan missed his family. He then shifted to B'Elanna and he got a warm feeling in his chest as he thought about the chief engineer. Their friendship had come a long way since this voyage had begun. Some of the crew had begun to call B'Elanna, Harry and himself the three Musketeers as they seemed to spend a lot of their off duty time together in Sandrine's.

His thoughts were interrupted when Harry said

"Captain, we should be close enough to send out a probe."

Kathryn turned to Harry and said

"Launch the probe, Mr Kim"

His fingers played over his console and then he announced

"The probe has been launch, and we should have the readings back in three minutes."

They all waited for the first readings and when they came, it took Harry only a few moments to get an idea of what they were approaching.

"Captain it is indeed a wormhole, but..."

He paused a moment to look intently at the readouts. When he looked up again he said

"I can't determined where it leads from the data the probe is sending back, we need to get closer to send a probe through it to see where it leads."

Kathryn nodded and turned to Tom and said

"Mr Paris how long till we get there?"

Tom checked his console and then turned in his seat and said

"At this speed we should be there in twelve minutes."

She nodded and said

"Drop us to impulse just before we arrive."

xxx

The senior staff were all assembled in the conference room as they went over the data they had gathered about the wormhole over the last three days. Voyager had hung in space ten thousand kilometers from the wormhole and in that time, it had seemed stable, but they had discovered its other end had opened up still in the DQ. It seemed that it was a sort of shortcut, the other end approximately ten years further on. It would only cut ten years off their journey. But that was ten years closer to home. Their biggest problem was the opening on this side was too small for a ship the size of Voyager to fit through. They were now trying to figure out a way to enlarge it, but every idea they had come up with had been discarded as not feasible.

Now Tom was sitting in his usual seat listening to Tuvok and Chakotay go over for the hundredth time a plan that he knew would work.

"Commander, the entrance is too small for what you are proposing. If we tried to take Voyager through and it even touched the sides of the wormhole, it could collapse and we would be crushed."

Tuvok said in his calm tone. Chakotay brought his hand down hard on the conference table and said with frustration in his tone

"Damn it Tuvok, we need to try something! We've been sitting hear arguing things that may happen, we need a plan on how to increase the opening so we could take Voyager in!"

Tuvok was not taken aback by the commander's outburst, but the others were. Chakotay was always considered the voice of reason and now he seemed to be losing his patience with the stoic Vulcan. Tuvok just raised an eyebrow and continued

"We don't even know if the exit is larger or smaller. If smaller, it would be very dangerous to try."

The area of the entrance was emitting what seemed to be waves of energy that had started only two days ago and seemed to be increasing that made it unwise to take Voyager closer until it was determined exactly what the waves were. The Captain was not going to put her ship and crew in jeopardy. Kathryn was about to call a halt to the meeting and just continue on as this seemed to be a dead end when Tom spoke up

"Captain, I think I know how we can get close enough to check it out."

He looked up at her as she said

"What's your idea, Tom?"

"Well, I've been thinking about this since yesterday, Voyager can't get any closer till we figure out exactly what those energy waves are, but I think with a little modifications on the shields of the flyer, I could get close enough to get some readings and maybe get a good look at the wormhole and send back those readings to Voyager."

The entire room now focused on the pilot as he continued

"I believe that with the proper modifications to the shields that I can get close enough to the entrance to get some needed data. All we would need to do is boost the gain on the shield modulation and it would give the shields a sixty five percent boost in power."

Now B'Elanna was nodding in agreement and already the wheels were turning in her brain as she began to work on the problem. It could work. She looked at the Captain and waited for her reply. Captain Janeway looked at both her helmsman and chief engineer and saw the look of anticipation on both of their faces. She hoped this would work, because if not then they would be leaving and continuing on their way.

"How long would it take to modify the shields?"

Tom looked at B'Elanna and she thought for a moment

"At least two hours Captain...maybe less if Tom lends a hand."

Kathryn only paused for a moment before saying

"Okay get on it, we will try it, but if it doesn't work we will be continuing on our way."

They all knew that the captain had made up her mind.

XXX

Tom had just pulled himself out from under the console and stood to look at the readouts of the shield strength. They had been able to boost the strength by about fifty percent but no higher. It would just have to do.

"Well, I think that's about the best we can do with it"

Tom said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. B'Elanna nodded and replied

"They should protect the Flyer from those waves of energy, but I'm still worried about the aft sensors. They don't seem quiet right."

She looked at her friend and sighed as she continued

"Tom, be careful out there, don't do anything foolish, just get the data and get back here okay?"

He looked at her and grinned and said

"What... me foolish?"

She grinned back and playfully shoved him with her shoulder. They had been friends now for over a year and that friendship had started to develop into a deeper relationship. Tom had begun to think that maybe it could become something more.

"Don't worry Lanna, I'll be careful. Hopefully I can get some interesting data and we'll be able to find a way to use that little baby out there."

He tapped his communicator and said

"Paris to the bridge, Captain we're done and I'm getting ready to launch"

Kathryn Janeway's voice came back and said

"Very well, Mr Paris The energy waves are starting to increase so make this a quick trip."

He climbed into the Flyer and began his prelaunch as B'Elanna moved to the door of the shuttle bay. She was still worried about this and in the back of her mind, had a bad feeling that something was going to go bad. She finally, as the shuttle lifted off and cleared the bay doors, shook that feeling off. Tom was the best pilot and he seemed to have nine lives just like a cat.

Xxx

Tom was less than two hundred kilometers from the opening of the wormhole and was having trouble keeping his distance. The energy waves were buffeting the shuttle and he was having trouble holding it steady. But he was almost finished. He'd been out there for close to an hour and he had gotten a lot of readings that had automatically been sent to Voyager. He had just scanned the opening again when he heard a burst of static and the broken up transmission from Voyager. It was the Captain but he was finding it hard to filter out the static. Her words came in fragmented

"Big...coming...Tom... Voy..."

He wasn't sure what she was saying so he tried to boost the gain and he said

"Captain you're coming in but not clearly. I've just about finished. Will be done in a couple of minutes."

As he sent the message, he heard a loud blast of static. Her voice came back sounding very urgent, but the only thing he heard other than the static was Tom now. He quickly checked the sensor readings and saw the large wave of energy coming towards him. He check to see if the last data coming in to Voyager had been received and saw it would take just a few more moments to complete. He quickly decided to wait that extra few seconds to complete it and again said

"Captain just a few more moments almost done then I will be back... Open the doors for me"

He didn't know that what they heard was Cap...almost...back...doors... He checked the sensors and saw two things...his data was complete and a big...very big wave was almost upon him. He began scrabbling to get the Flying out of the way, but it was too late. The wave hit him with a jolt and knocked him out of his seat and onto the floor. Momentary he felt as if he was going to pass out, but he was able to regain his seat and what he saw was something he didn't expect. Swirling gasses and colors all around the shuttle and he had the feeling of speed. He defiantly was not where he had been only moments ago. What he didn't know was that everyone on the bridge stood and watched in horror as the mouth of the wormhole had literally open and had seem to swallow the flyer and Tom and then had completely dissipated. Tom was gone.

TBC

**A/N Sorry I should have reviewed before I posted. I have corrected the mistakes and hope it makes better sense now. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The silence on the bridge was so profound that no one knew what to say. They had watched as the entrance of the wormhole had spit out a giant wave of energy and had opened like a surreal mouth and swallowed up the Flyer with Tom Paris and had then dissipated and left nothing but empty space.

Finally Chakotay softly said to no one in particular

"What just happened?"

Captain Janeway looked at her first officer and said nothing. Tom was gone and they had no way to know what had happened. Was he alive? Was he able to gain enough control of the shuttle to maybe be able to navigate the wormhole? Was it stable enough to let him exit out the other end? She had no way of knowing. The idea that she had lost her pilot and friend was something she didn't want to contemplate at the moment. To lose a crew member was never easy, and she just didn't want to think about that at the moment. She turned to see Harry looking at the view screen with a look of unbelief on his face and she knew the depth of his sorrow. Tom was like a big brother to him and he would feel the loss more than them all. In that one small moment, her heart went out to the Ensign as she saw his pain. She knew she had to give some hope to them all. She took a deep breath and said

"Okay people, we will be staying here for the time being. Senior staff, we will be meeting in fifteen minutes to go over our options."

With that she turned and strode to her ready room and as the doors closed behind her, if any of the bridge crew could see her face they would have seen a single tear run down her face.

They had been hanging there for the last thirty-six hours and the wormhole had not reappeared. They had gone over all the information they had gathered on the wormhole. Tom's readings had been invaluable and they now knew that the wormhole's other opening was approximately ten years away. If they could have opened this end to get Voyager through, and if the other end had been large enough to fit through, they would have taken ten years off their journey home, but they had determined with the sensor readings Tom had gotten that the opening on the other side had been only slightly larger than this side was. So they would have to continued on there way home. Now they were only waiting to see if the wormhole would open again and were hoping beyond hope that the Flyer would shoot through and Tom would be back. It had not happened. It had opened for a minute and nothing came through and then it had closed again. Tuvok had finally determined that it was a very unstable one and most likely would never open again and now they were ready to go on. They had a wealth of data from the information that Tom had sent back to Voyager and they had decided to follow the information and search for the pilot. They had the coordinates of the other side and they knew that it would take approximately ten years, but none of them were willing to give up and clung to the hope that maybe...just maybe he had survived and made it to an inhabitable planet and that they would find him. Time would tell.

The Delta Flyer shot out the wormhole with such speed and such violence that Tom was having a problem keeping control of his flight path. He cursed as he began to roll and grabbed the one joystick trying hard to get some control of the roll. It took all his skills as a pilot to accomplish the feat. He finally got full control and sighed as he checked the sensors. He noticed that he had damage to the right nacelle and was venting plasma from both. He knew that if he didn't find a place to land and soon, he was looking at a serious problem. He began to search for an inhabitable planet. And he needed to do it fast. The other nacelle was venting more plasma and he knew the warp engines were shot. With that thought, he knew he'd be stuck on whatever planet he found and that without warp capabilities, he'd never make it home to the AQ. Well, there was time later to think about that, right now he had need to find a place to land. He began checking the sensors, and found he was near a planet that may suffice for his needs. He turned the sensors toward the planet and scanned it for any life signs. He found that it contained several lower life signs but nothing he found spoke of any civilization. The surface was more of a tropical environment and the atmosphere seem to be breathable. He noted with relief that the temperature seem to be tolerable not to hot and not too cool, so if this was going to be his home, he would not be too uncomfortable. He guided the shuttle towards the planet and prepared to land. As he began passing through the atmosphere the shuttle began to shake. He was having problems keeping it steady and again cursed as he was almost thrown from the seat. He finally cleared and was now gliding over the landscape, looking for a good place to land. It took him a good ten minutes to find a suitable place. He saw a mountain range and as he maneuvered around to find the best spot, he saw a large stream and some trees near it. He saw a level space just off the stream and to the right of the tree line and decided that would be the best place and gently set the Flyer down. He was glad he had made it down so easily as he knew that the plasma was still venting. He shut the engines down and it was then he heard a loud whoosh and he knew at that point the warp was gone. He let out the breath he had been holding and just sat there a moment. Well this was it. He was now on the ground and knew he was here to stay. His thought drifted to Voyager and wondered what was happening on board. Were they wondering if he had made it? Were they going to try and find him? Did they even care? He shook his head at that last thought...no he wasn't going to think that way. He knew there were those on board who would not care, but he also knew there were those who would. Suddenly he felt very alone and he hung his head. What if they never found him? Was he distended to be forever alone, like a hermit? He would miss his friends...Harry...B'Elanna...the Captain...even Chakotay. All of a sudden he wished that he had dragged someone with him so he wouldn't be alone. But he shook that thought off. He wouldn't want any of his friends to be in this situation...no he could do this, but it would be hard. He drew in a breath and stood up and went to the hatch and opened it. It was time to survey the Flyer and his new home. Later he would think about his friends and what lay ahead of him.

Tom was sitting just outside of the entrance of the Flyer thinking. He was watching the sun as it began slipping below the horizon. He had spent over an hour checking every system and had found that it was better than he had thought. The warp was gone, but his impulse power was intact. He would have enough power to run the systems for a long time. At least he would have replicator use for what he thought for a long time. Until he could survey the local flora to see if there was any edible fruit he could use he could replicate anything. He hoped to plant a garden so he could grow food for himself, and then he could preserve power. He also hoped that the stream held edible fish as he was quite a good fisherman. He smiled slightly as he thought of his uncle Jon who was his mother's brother and the times he had visited during then summers. His uncle had taught him a lot about survival and how to live off the land. He was grateful for that, as he knew he was here to stay.

But right now he was tired and just wanted to enjoy the reds,golds and purples of the sky. He had always loved watching the sunsets and this was a spectacular one. At least he would have that to look forward to. He looked up and saw the first star peeking out and wondered about it. Did it have planets around it? Were there any people on them? He sighed and decided that this train of thought was not getting him anywhere. He again looked as the sun finally dipped below the horizon and as he watched the colors began to fade. More stars became visible and a slight chill came over the planet. He sat for a few minutes more and then got up and went into the shuttle and closed the hatch. He was tired and hungry and he had a lot to do tomorrow. He walked over to the replicator, but couldn't decide what he wanted. He finally chose a bowl of hot plain tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. He sat on the edge of the bunk and ate, thinking of the days events. When he finished, he recycled the bowl and spoon and went to get ready for sleep. When he came out of the restroom he went to the bunk and sat back down. He was glad he had made the bunks wider and more comfortable that the standard star fleet issue shuttle. He looked up and quietly said

"Computer lights out."

The computer obeyed and he laid down to contemplate the next day. He planned to check out the area and decide on where best to build his shelter and plant his garden. He also wanted to check for fish and fruit and maybe some berries. He lay there thinking and finally the stress of the day let up and he was able to finally drift off to sleep.

Tom wake and for a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. He just knew he wasn't in his quarters. Then it came back to him and he sighed. He was alone and that was all there was to it. He had dreamed of being on Voyager and being with his friends as they were eating in the mess hall. Neelix had made some large muffins and Tom has said how they reminded him of a brick as they were quite solid. They had all tried hard to find a way to dispose of them without hurting Neelix's feelings. He had tried to make more things the crew would like. He had finally gotten it right too and his muffins had become a big hit with the crew. Tom smiled to himself as he got up and got ready for the day. He had dressed and then had a cup of coffee with some peanut butter toast and then he left the shuttle to do his exploring.

By noon, he had scouted out a two mile square of territory and found that he had indeed found a good place to settle. He had decided on where the shelter was going up and the plot of land for the garden. He had found an abundance of fish in the stream and the scan showed they would be edible so he knew he would not want for a variety of fish. He had also found fruit and berries and had gathered some to bring back to the shuttle. The berries reminded him of raspberries and blueberries and the fruit was like apples and peaches. He stepped into the shuttle and laid the container down that had the fruit in it on the table by the replicator. He had scanned them and knew they were safe for human consumption, so he decided for lunch he would have a sandwich and fruit. He got the sandwich from the replicator and took his lunch and went back outside to sit and eat. He was very grateful the weather was so pleasant and hoped it was a year round thing. As he ate, he decided he would start the shelter this afternoon. He could use a lot of the materials on the planet and maybe he'd need to only replicate a few things he needed. Again he thanked his uncle for teaching him so much about survival and living off the land. He also gave a thought of thanks to his mother who had insisted he learn to cook and bake. He smiled broadly as he remembered his dad's objections and that it was not needed for someone going to be the next Paris in the Star Fleet hierarchy. He was now grateful his mom had insisted. He would not starve.

The sun was setting and Tom was satisfied with his work. He had been able to get a good start and he had a framework,roof and walls up. He was standing in the large room and deciding how he was going to do the inside. He wondered if he should just leave it one large room or divide it into rooms. He finally decided to do a large living area with separate bedroom and kitchen areas. He would start that tomorrow. He was tired and he decided it was time to quit for the day. He gathered the tools and laid them in the corner and before he left, he again turned and looked at the large room. It was something he could be proud of and he sighed in satisfaction, remembering his uncle saying that a job worth doing was worth doing well.

He left and walked towards the shuttle and when he reached it he turned and again looked at his work. It was standing under a couple of trees, so it would be shaded from the sun beating down on it, so it should be cool. He had made many windows to let the breeze flow through and he would be able to see from all angles. There didn't seem too be any flying insects so he decided to leave the windows open to the air. After two years on Voyager he liked the idea that he could look out at the scenery. He entered the shuttle and went to clean up. He decided that a hot shower would be nice, so he stripped and stepped into the hot water and let it wash away the sweat and grime of the day. After about a half hour he reluctantly shut the water off and stepped out and dried off. Luckily the water used in the bathroom was recycled so he knew he wouldn't run out of it. It felt good to be clean and the hot water had relaxed him. He got into some sweatpants and pulled on a tee shirt. He had replicated some clothes so he didn't have to be in uniform all the time. He felt tired and decided to eat and just go to bed. The sun had set and now the moon had risen and the landscape was bathed in its light. He replicated some stew and took it out to enjoy the evening. He sat down and began eating and deciding on his days activities tomorrow. He was committed to finish his home and hoped to start on some furniture. He wasn't quite ready to cannibalize the flyer yet, and was determined to build all he could. He was confident he could build the basics, but knew he needed a way to rig a power source from the Flyer. He hoped he could figure out a way to just run some sort of cables to the home. He sighed and wished that B'Elanna or Harry was here to help. He was no engineer but he thought he could do it...at least he hoped so.

Three months had passed and Tom lay on the ground under the engines of the Delta Flyer working on connecting the power grid that he hoped would power his home. He had been having problems hooking it up and had already blown a coupling but luckily he had discovered his mistake and now he was just hooking the last connection. There... it was connected and he pulled himself out from under it and stood. He surveyed his work and double checked the connections. Now everything looked good and he took and wiped the sweat off his brow. The sun was almost overhead and he was anxious to see if it worked. Carefully he switched the power relay on and heard the familiar hum. He waited for a moment and then pulled out his scanner and checked it. Everything seemed good. He slowly let the breath out he hadn't realized he was holding. He checked the scanner again and the power outlet looked good. He turned and walked the few steps to his house and went in. The room was large and he had been busy building furniture. He had a couch of sorts and a chair plus a table and two chairs that he would use as a dining table. He had made two chairs because he felt it was better than one and in his thoughts, he knew he would feel better if he had the other chair. He knew it was silly, but it did make him feel less alone. He kinda grinned when he thought about the movie he and Harry had seen in the holodeck about a plane crash survivor who had used a volleyball as a companion to talk to while he was there...Wilson he thought he remembered the lead character naming it. Maybe he'd replicate a volleyball and name it Wilson!

To the right was the bedroom and he had made a bedstead, a dresser and a small bedside table that held a lamp. He had used a mattress from the shuttle and it was comfortable. It had been made up and his two pillows were on the bed. It had a colorful quilt and looked neat, something else his father had drummed into his being. A Star Fleet person was a neat person. To the left was a small kitchenette and he had been able to rig up a cook-top and stove of sorts He used firewood to heat them both, but it worked for him.. He had also been able to do a type of pump for water from the stream. It reminded him of the pictures he had seen of the houses in the nineteenth century and he was proud that it had worked.

He had moved the shuttle closer, so it was just a few steps away, and he had decided to keep the bathroom facilities with the shuttle. He looked at the lamp he had made and said

"Well, here goes."

He leaned over and flipped the switch and...the light lit up. He sighed and sat down in the chair. It was working and now he would have power for his use. He wouldn't be in the dark at night. He just needed to be careful he didn't overload the power circuits. He leaned over and turned the light out and then leaned back and looked around his home. It was sparse but he decided it was ample for his needs. He closed his eyes and was about to doze off when he heard a noise at the door. He jumped slightly but then settled down as he saw the animal that was coming in and over to him. It was a dog like creature and it looked like a beagle. It had the coloring of silver and black instead of the typical coloring of a beagle, but looked just like one with the soft floppy ears. He had found the creature about a month ago trapped in the underbrush about a mile from his home. It had been hurt and Tom could see that it had been attacked by a larger animal. It had been whimpering and when Tom approached him, his tail had begun to wag and the whimpers had gotten more insistent. Once Tom determined that the dog like creature was no threat to him, he had carried him back home and nursed it back to health. Now he was a member of the family and Tom was glad that he had company of sorts. The dog came over and looked up at him with those puppy dog eyes and whined. He was a sucker and reached down and picked the pup up. He had estimated that he was about four months old and now he gently settled the dog in his lap and began to pet him, all the while the dog's tail was thumping against his lap.

"Well, Harry, what have you been up to these last two hours hum?"

He had named the pup after his best friend and hoped Harry didn't mind. But then Harry would never know would he? The thought of his friend brought a lump to his throat and he got quiet. The pup, like all animals everywhere, sensed his mood and licked his hand. He looked down and smiled and said

"You know Har, maybe it won't be so lonely with you here."

He took the pup up to his chest and hugged him while the dog's tail wagged all the more.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The evening was cool but not uncomfortable as the man walked out the front door and settled himself in the chair on the porch. He had just finished his evening meal and as his habit was he was enjoying the the sunset. He relaxed and let his hand trail over the side of the chair and begin stroking the dog's head. He was at peace with his existence. A contented sigh escaped his lips as he watched the sun dip below the horizon.

Tom had been on this planet now for four years, and he had come to accept his fate. It really wasn't so bad. He had Harry for company and Harry had Katie and now they all had three bouncing pups. He had named the pups Chakotay,Tuvok and the one girl Lanna. So now his family had grown to five. He chucked to himself as he thought of his friends and wondered what they would think if they knew he had named the dogs after them. He was sure that Harry and B'Elanna wouldn't mind, but he wasn't to sure about the Captain, Chakotay and Tuvok. Well he'd never know about that would he?

He turned his attention back to the sunset and once again marveled at the golds and reds of the sky. It never failed to amaze him how lovely the colors could be. This had become a sort of ritual for him to sit after his dinner and watch the sky. He usually sat till the night became quite dark and he had already named many a constellation. It was something he remembered doing back on Earth in his childhood. He had loved to go out back and lay on the grass and watch the heavens. He had always been a star gazer. As the colors began to lose their hue, he began to watch the stars come out one by one. Harry had laid down and he looked down and said to the dog

"Well Har, another day has passed. You and the missus been hunting again to feed that brood of yours?"

The dog looked up at him and thumped his tail. Tom smiled and thought to himself that it almost seemed like Harry could understand him. It would not have surprised him if Harry had actually said something back to him. He sometimes imaged that he did. The pups were gathering on the porch and all three came over to Tom and wiggled in delight as they all tried to get on his lap. He laughed and picked them all up and settled them on his lap. Lanna crawled up and licked his face and again he chuckled and said

"Ha I could never get my Lanna to do that"

Katie as he called the mother came over and laid down at his feet and placed her head down on her front paws and just looked up at him. She seemed to trust him with her pups and he was glad as it made his days go by easier to have the pups and the parents in his life. He remembered back to last year when Harry had come home one night with Katie in tow. She had hung back and was cautious of him but had after a couple of weeks accepted him too. He had looked into the dogs eyes, and for a moment they reminded him of the Captain, the look of wonder at seeing new things to explore in space. Thinking back now it seemed silly, but at that moment he had started calling her Katie.

He became somber as he once again thought of Voyager and her crew. Where were they? Had they made it home through another wormhole? Did they think about him? Had they forgotten him? He shook his head, he was not going down that path again. He knew the chances of ever being found by Voyager was practically null. But he was content. He had to be or it would drive him mad with loneliness and despair. It really wasn't that bad. Sure he didn't have a person to talk to but he had his family and even though they couldn't talk, he still talked to them and they seemed to listen to him.

He had rigged up a type of solar panels and now he didn't need to use the impulse engines to power the area. He had also replicated some vids and he was able to watch movies. The good thing was he could recycle them and so he always had a supply of them. He had also done a big collection of his favorite music, and so he had that to listen to. In fact he was listening to some right now. The music drifted out to the porch and he closed his eyes and let the music wash over him. It was his favorite piano piece, Clair De Lune. He could remember his mother playing that piece when he was a child on the grand piano that was in the den. He had always loved it and now the sounds of the music soothed his soul. He closed his eyes again and imagined his mom playing for him.

He sat there for over an hour before he stood and stretched The pups had long since gotten down and were now curled up with their mother and he looked down at them and said

"Time for bed guys. Its been a long day and I'm beat."

All the dogs looked at him and as he turned and walked into the house, they all followed him in. He shut the door and walked towards the bedroom. The pups followed and Harry laid down near the door, his usual spot. He had a large pillow and Katie joined him. They always kept guard at night but the pups always slept with Tom. There were no dangerous animals here on the planet, which Tom had dubbed Paradise. It fit the place well as the climate never varied much and the weather was good. He sat on the side of the bed and watched as the pups jumped up and settled down in their usual places. Chakotay always slept at the foot of the bed and Tuvok took the side Tom didn't. Lanna loved sleeping on the pillow next to Tom's head and sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the night with her cuddled up against his neck. He laid down and covered up with the quilt and settled down to watch the first moon rise. This planet had two moons. They rose about two hours apart, and when both were up, the night could be quite bright. Tonight though it would be a half moon, so not so much light out. He saw the first begin to peek over the mountain range to the east and he watched for a while. Soon though, his eyes drooped and he fell asleep with the light shinning into the room and the sound of the pups breathing in his ear.

Tom woke with the sun shining through the window and a slight breeze ruffling the curtains. He replicated some white ones for the bedroom and had some light green ones in the main room. It had just seemed more home like and he felt better with them even though they didn't really provide privacy, but then he had no neighbors to worry about. The pups had moved out to the main room, and he knew they all wanted to go outside, so he got out of bed and walked into the main room. There they all were waiting patiently by the door. They all turned and looked at him with tails wagging.

"Morning guys did you sleep well?"

They all looked at him and Harry gave a small bark and wagged even more. The pups were wiggling their bodies as they came and wrapped around his legs almost tripping him

"Hey, guys."

He laughed and opened the door and all five shot out to do their duty and spend the day doing dog things. Tom left the door open and moved to the kitchen to see what he wanted for breakfast. He had fashioned a cooler and it held his perishables. He had some fruit and vegetables and juice and milk. Since about two years ago, he had cut way down on his coffee consumption and only had it about once a week. He grabbed the container of juice and poured a glass and sat it down on the table. He turned and took the loaf of bread he had baked yesterday and cut a couple of slices and took the fruit spread he had made out of the cooler. He had replicated some butter last night and he placed that and the spread on the table with the bread. The last thing he got was the container of peanut butter he had also replicated. He still enjoyed peanut butter toast in the mornings, only now he rarely toasted the bread. He sat down and began fixing the bread. As he ate, he thought of what he needed to do today. He'd need to work in his garden. He had quite a garden. He had planted potatoes,corn,beans,tomatoes, carrots and salad makings. It had thrived here with the mild weather and rains. He knew he wasn't going to lack in what he needed. He had canned a lot of the produce and had the one large cabinet full of fruit spreads and vegetables and his own tomato sauce. The fruit trees and berries he picked had come in handy too. He had canned a lot to have on hand. What little the planet didn't provide, he'd replicate it. He had flour,sugar,salt and other spices and condiments so he was able to cook each night. The stream had provided fish, and what little red meat he ate now was also replicated. He smiled to himself as he realized he was more of a vegetarian now than when he was on Voyager, but he found that he felt better for not eating a lot of red meat. Now he only ate the occasion steak or had a hamburger meal maybe twice a month.

When he finished his breakfast, he rose and cleaned up and then went to the bedroom to get his clothes for the day. He also took his shower things and went to the shuttle to shower and get ready for the day.

He had spent a good two hours in the garden and now he walked to the house with two baskets of items. He had decided he would be making a vegetable stew tonight and had the ingredients he would use. He walked into the main room and placed the baskets down on the table. He would sort through them later. He first wanted to go and get some of the apple like fruit for tonight as he had decided that a fresh baked apple pie would be good tonight. He might even replicate some sharp cheddar cheese to go with it. He put all the salad greens and fixings in the cooler and took that basket and left again to get the apples. As he walked the quarter mile to the grove of trees he was joined by Harry who loved to go with him on his outings. He stooped down and scratched the dog's head and then continued on. When he reached to grove, he went to the first tree and began to gather the apple like fruit. The trees were not tall so he could easily pick the fruit. Once he had gathered all the basket would hold, he turned and started back, Harry at his heals.

"Well, Har, I think I've got enough to make a good size pie and have some left to fry tomorrow for breakfast."

The dog just looked up at him and wagged his tail. Tom just chuckled and said

"Thanks, I knew you'd agree."

When he got home, he went in and put the basket down on the table next to the other one. He looked at the clock and saw it was mid afternoon and decided to get the stew going first. He had, since he had extended the power grid to the kitchen area been able to dispense with the need to do fire wood to cook and bake, and he was glad. It heated the house up too much and it took forever it seemed to cool it down. He took a large pot out of the cabinet and placed on the burner of his stove. He turned and took the basket of vegetables and placed them in a large bowl in the sink and began to pump the water to fill the bowl. It took him all of fifteen minutes to get everything ready and he then turned the burner to a simmer so the stew would cook. He cleaned the mess he'd made and wiped the counter down, and then he got the things he needed to do the pie crust. It took him about twenty minutes to make and roll out the bottom crust and place it in the pie plate. He had decided to make a crumble topping and had mixed it first and set it aside till he had the apples peeled and sliced. He got the apples and placed them in the same bowl and with the peeler, he took them out to the front porch and sat down to peel the apples. He was humming as he worked and soon had them all peeled. Going back into the house, he scooped the slice apples into the crust and added spices and the crumble topping and placed into the heated oven to bake. Placing the remainder of the slices in a container and then into the cooler for tomorrow, he again cleaned up his mess. He checked the stew and saw it was cooking nicely and the aroma was making him hungry. It was then that he realized he hadn't eaten lunch. He took the tin that sat on the counter and opened it and took three chocolate chip cookies out and then replaced the cover. He got the milk out and poured himself a glass and placed it back into the cooler. Picking up the glass he moved to the computer and placed a disc in and let the music flow through the room. Picking up his book, he went out on the front porch and sat down to spend the rest of the afternoon reading.

His stew and pie had made his evening. He was once again very thankful that his mom had insisted he learn to cook. He wasn't one to think he could have made a living with it but he wasn't bad at it either. He was getting ready to go to bed and was once again thinking of his time here. It was a lonely existence but he also felt himself lucky. He could be completely alone but he wasn't. He had no real work to do, but he kept himself busy around the home. Sometimes he'd hike off and camp out with the dogs in tow and explore his planet. He'd found a lovely valley about ten miles to the east and had enjoyed a week there camping. It had a pristine lake and the mountains in the distance. It had made for a nice peaceful place. He'd been back several times and had enjoyed it. He had figured he had explored a fifty mile square area around his home and knew what lay around him. In his first weeks here he had even taken the Flyer up and surveyed the planet and had mapped it out, but now he never took it out anymore. It remained in its place just off the bedroom and he used it for his bathroom now and would replicate the few things he needed when he needed them.

He laid down and took his book to read some more. He was reading one of his favorite classics, The Three Musketeers. He had read it as a child but he never got tired of it. That was one thing he was glad he had insisted that was programed into the computer system of the Flyer. Tuvok had said it was unnecessary but Tom had insisted that it was a need in case they were ever stranded on some planet. He had been right. Now he had replicated ten different books and he would go through them one at a time. Sometimes he'd read out loud to the dogs as if they understood the story. Deep down he knew it was silly, and maybe he did it to hear a human voice, but it also seemed to sooth the dogs too. Finally he had gotten to the end and laying the book down on the bedside table, he turned out the light and settled down to sleep, the light of the two almost full moons streaming into the room.

He had just finished cleaning up after lunch when a sound caught his attention. He put the dish down and walked out onto the porch to listen. It sounded like a craft. For a moment his heart leaped and he thought that maybe Voyager had found him, but then he saw what was causing the noise. It was a shuttle of some sort, but definitely not Star Fleet. He had mixed feelings about it. Were they friendly? Did he need to fear that they weren't? If they were friendly he'd have company and if not then he was in trouble. How many were there? He watched as the shuttle seemed to be in trouble. It's flight was erratic and he could tell it was in trouble. The engines were whining and he could see the pilot was having trouble controlling the descent. It finally dipped below the tree line and he heard a loud crash and explosion. He turned and rushed into the house and went to the desk and opened the small drawer and took out his communicator and attached it to his shirt for the universal translator. He also grabbed the phaser he had there just in case they were not friendly. He also got his med kit and was out the door and running to where the shuttle had crashed. He estimated it was about half a mile to the east.

When he got there, he could see it was smoldering but it seemed safe enough to enter. The hatch was torn at the hinges and hanging at a grotesque angle. Cautiously he entered and looked around. He let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting. He could smell burning wires and saw the sparks coming off the panels. He made his was to the front and then saw the pilot slumped over the panels. He was humanoid and had long blond hair. Tom checked him for a pulse but found none. His face was burned and he did not seem to be breathing. He took the medical tricorder out and scanned him and found he was dead. He shut the tricorder and sighed. He'd never know who he was now. He sighed and went to check to see if any others were on board. As he made his way to the rear of the shuttle he thought he heard soft crying. He found a woman who was burned badly over most of her body and barely alive. He knelt down and began to scan her.

"Don't worry I'll help you."

He said as he looked at the results. His heart sank as he saw she was also dying. He couldn't even do anything to save her. She looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes and said

"My baby...my baby."

"Baby?"

It took all her remanding strength but she raised up and pointed to the back of the shuttle. Tom's eyes followed her pointing hand and got up and went to the area she was pointing at. He found a small lighted chamber and as he peered in he saw the baby. It seemed to be protected and he watched as it turned its head and looked out at him. Then it grinned at him. He looked at the controls and pushed a couple of buttons and the covering opened up. He gently reached in and took the baby out and walked back to the mother. She was anxiously watching and as he knelt down again and started to hand the baby to her she stopped him and looked at him and said with her last breath

"Take care of my baby."

She slumped down and Tom knew she was dead. He looked down at the baby in his arms and saw the look on it's face and how it didn't know that it had lost its parents and suddenly he could not hold the tears back any more. He drew the baby closer and held it to his chest as he sobbed uncontrollable for the loss of life. But he had hope for the child and he knew he would do anything to keep this child alive and healthy. He again looked at the baby and saw only trust and contentment on its face. He could not seem to stop the tears from streaming down his face and he brought the baby up to his face and cuddled it to him, and as he did he felt the little hand reach up and touch him on the cheek.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tom lay on the floor of the main room with a little bundle of energy sitting on his chest. Joy...for that was what he had named her. She had in the three months he'd had her brought him so much joy. She had blond curls which she had inherited from her parents and the most mischievous green eyes. Now she was sitting on him and giggling at the faces he was making at her. He had guessed her age at about six months and she certainly had been a handful. But he had loved every moment of it. As he bounced her up and down, he thought at how she had changed his life. He now had someone to take care of and love, and he realized how much he truly did love the little one. Even though he was not her biological parent, he felt like he was her daddy and he knew he'd do anything for her. His face sobered as he thought back to that terrible and wonderful day that she had come into his life. Terrible that her parents shuttle had crashed and killed them, but wonderful that he now had her in his life. He thought back to that day

_He stood over the freshly dug graves and wept. He had been able to do nothing to save the two. He felt so helpless and he knew that two lives had been snuffed out trying to save the little baby from harm. He had been able, with the translator, to listen to the last moments of the flight and had learned that they had been outcasts from there society and had been looking for a new home when they had encountered engine trouble. They had not been able to fix it and the mother had place the baby in a stasis unit to protect her. Because they had not had time to activate the unit, the baby had never been in stasis but had been protected from the crash. He turned and looked at the baby who in turn was looking up at him from the small carrier he had found in the wreckage. She was grinning and gurgling at him. Harry was lying next to the baby as if on watch, his sad eyes looking up at his master. He knew something was wrong and he wanted to be there for his master and he knew that this new 'pup' would need looking out for. He was there to help his master in this, but he couldn't figure out why his master was so sad. He raised his head and looked first at Tom and then at the freshly made mounds of dirt and surmised that this must be the reason for the sorrow, but he still didn't understand. He again looked at his master and wagged his tail. Tom finally smiled as the tears were still rolling down his cheeks and finally said_

"_Well Har, we have a new addition to the family and I'm counting on you and Katie to help me."_

_He reached down and picked up the carrier and looked at the baby. She was so sweet looking and innocent. She had blond curls and the deepest green eyes he'd ever seen. She was playing with her toes and he had to chuckle at her as she looked at each toe and gurgled. She was such a bundle of joy...He thought a moment and then said_

"_Joy...Joy is gonna be your name because you have brought joy into my life."_

_As he said her name, she looked up at him and smiled and held out her chubby little arms to him. He again began to cry as he lifted her out of the carrier and, as he placed it back on the ground, he hugged her to his chest and cried. He had such mixed emotions at this time. Sad that she had lost her parents but happy he had her now. He brought her up and gently kissed her forehead and as he again cuddled her to him he felt her tiny hand reach and touch him on the face..._

Tom came back to the present and again looked into the face of his daughter. She was looking at him as if to ask why he had gotten so quiet. He smiled at her and again made a funny face and she burst out with her little giggles again. She loved it when he made his funny faces. He held her up over his face and then lowered her down and blew raspberries on her tummy. She began laughing and he continued for several moments. Then he rolled over and got up with her in his arms and said

"Okay munchkin, its time for your bath. Daddy's slobbered all over your tummy."

She only grinned at him and said

"Da Da... Da Da."

He looked at her with surprise on his face. She had been talking baby talk now for a couple of months, but she's never said that. His heart swelled and he said

"Daddy... say daddy."

She smiled and said

"Da Da...Da Da...Da Da...Da Da"

He took and swung her gently around and she laughed harder and clapped her hands. He placed her on his hip and hugged her to his body as he went into the bedroom to get her fresh clothes and then went out to the Flyer and got her bath ready. She watched him get the water just right and eagerly leaned towards it. He laughed and said

"You are my little fishy!"

She seemed to love the water and he knew he would be teaching her to swim as soon as she was old enough. He placed her down in the water after he had divested her of her diaper and she immediately began splashing the water. He usually got pretty wet at bath times and this was no different. When he was finished and had her dry and clothed again he placed her in the make shift play pen and she began playing with her toys. He watched her few a moments and then said

"Time for daddy's shower...whew, you really got me wet this morning!"

She just looked at him and smiled and said

"Da Da"

"Yes, Daddy needs to clean up too, so you have fun and daddy will take his shower."

He turned and picked up his towel and clothes and went into the bathroom to clean up. He was out in fifteen minutes and she was still playing with the large teddy bear he had replicated for her. It was her favorite and she would hug it tightly to her and he'd even found her one afternoon sound asleep with her head on the bear. He leaned down and picked her up and held her at arms length and said

"So munchkin, are you hungry and ready for breakfast? I'm so hungry I could eat that bear!"

He pulled her to him and planted several kisses on her cheeks. She reached out her tiny arms and clung to him and the feeling he felt was wonderful. She had certainly been able to wrap him around her little finger. He took her out of the shuttle and back into the house and set her up in the 'bouncer' he had also replicated. She loved to bounce up and down and it seem to entertain her for hours. He turned back to the kitchen and began to assemble the ingredients for breakfast. He took the leftover mashed potatoes from last night out and took a large spoonful and placed it in the pan on the burner to heat up for Joy. She loved mashed potatoes and she loved it when he added the creamed corn to it so he added a spoonful to the potatoes and let it heat up. He decided he would make potato pancakes for himself and started the batter, all the while keeping and eye on the pan on the burner. After he had mixed the batter, he added a handful of the fresh berries he had gathered yesterday and got the large griddle out and placed some butter on it as it heated up. He turned and took the pan of Joy's breakfast off the burner and set it aside for a few moments as he poured the batter to start his pancakes. As they cooked, he set the table and got some juice out for him and fixed the bottle for Joy. He looked at her as she was happily bouncing and said

"Hey, sweetie, daddy's got some yummy potato corn mush for you and some milk."

She just kept bouncing and he chuckled at her. He flipped his cakes and pulled down a plate and bowl from the cabinet. He picked up the pan and tested the potatoes and decided they were at the correct temperature so it would not burn her mouth and dished the concoction into the bowl and took it to the table. He came back and put the cakes on his plate and buttered them and took the plate to the table along with the maple syrup. He took Joy out of the bouncer and placed her in her high chair and she grabbed the spoon and began to eat her breakfast. She was a quick learner and had been feeding herself for over a month now and Tom was glad as he could now eat and enjoy a hot meal himself. He dug into the pancakes and enjoyed them. Once he was done, he rose and took the dirty dishes to the sink and stacked them in the large tub. He now had hot water, thanks to the alien's shuttle. He had been able to salvage a few items from the crash and the one he really like was the portable heater that he had been able to attach to the sink so he always had a supply of hot water. He filled the tub with hot soapy water intending to let them soak while he tended to Joy. She was still drinking her milk and turned to watch him work. He turned around and smiled at her and he saw the grin that came to her face as she drank.

"You almost done with that munchkin?"

She held it out to him and he went to retrieve it and as he did he leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. He could see she was getting sleepy and said

"I think its nap time what do you say?"

She just looked at him with sleepy eyes. He took the bottle and placed it in a smaller pan he had also filled with hot soapy water and then he got the damp cloth and turned to wipe her face. She scrunched up her face as he did and he again chuckled at her face. He went to rinse it out and came back and wiped down the table and her tray and then tossed the rag into the tub of water. He picked her up and said

"Come on baby time for a nappy nap."

She had already laid her head down on his shoulder and he took her into the bedroom and laid her down in the crib. He took the light blanket and covered her as she settled down. He place the small teddy bear within reach and she took it and cuddled it to herself and was asleep in no time. He stood for a few moments and watched her sleep. Her face had a contented look and he just knew she was going to grow up to be a beauty. His heart again filled with so much love, that he felt emotional and with a sigh of contentment he went back to the kitchen to finish the clean up. As he passed the computer, he put on some piano music and with the soft strains of the music drifting through the home, he set to cleaning up.

Tom was sitting on the porch with Joy in his arms as they both watched the sun set. She was now three and they had celebrated her birthday today. Of course he really didn't know the exact date of her birth, so he had picked a date for her. It was his mothers birthday April twenty second. He had been able to keep track of time both for Earth and back on Voyager. At the thought of Voyager, he got a small lump in his throat. He still missed his friends. It had been seven years since he had been drawn into the wormhole and ended up here. Seven years and the first two had been agony for him. No one to talk to and it had been so lonely too. Then he had gotten his faithful dogs. The family had grown to about twelve as the pups had found mates and had pups too. Harry and the rest had been a great help to him as he had treated them as family and talked to them. Then three years ago he got Joy and his life had changed. She had made his existence bearable again and he loved her with all his heart. They were all his life now but he still missed his human companions. He had always wondered if they had made it home. He hoped they had. He had also wondered if they would have been looking for him? Did they care? Again he had to stop thinking like this. It just opened old sorrows and he didn't have time to think of that now. He had Joy now and she was his world. As the night got darker, Joy saw a shooting star and said

"Look Daddy a hooting tar!"

"Yes it is. Quick make a wish."

She squeezed her eye closed and got a determined look on her face and then turned and said

"Daddy I whised for a new fwend for you!"

He smiled at her and said

"Now why would I need a new friend when I have my little sweet pea?"

She cuddled up to him and said

"Just cause."

As if that stated it all. He smiled and rubbed her head with his chin.

"Tell me a strowy about unca Harry and Auntie Katwryn."

"Okay sweetie."

So he told her stories of Voyager, his friends, and the adventures they had in the DQ. She fell asleep in his arms and to the sound of his voice. He quietly got up and carried her into the house and took her into the bedroom and laid her down for the night. He gently kissed he good night and whispered

"Sleep tight my little one."

He watched her sleep for a moment, knowing that tomorrow would be full of adventures and stories as she never tired of his story telling. He sighed and decided it was time to hit the sack.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Tom was acutely aware that he was being watched. He had been sleeping pretty deeply and dreaming of...

He cracked open one eye and saw a pair of bright green eyes looking intently at him. He groaned inwardly and closed his eye again. But he was not allowed to drift back to sleep as he heard his daughter's exited voice as he whispered loudly and said

"Daddy, wake up...daddy!"

Tom opened both eyes and looked into the beautiful face of his daughter and said

"I'm awake."

She jumped up and came and snuggled close to him and began patting his cheek. He took her and wrapped his arm around her and said

"And why do I need to wake up again?"

He knew full well that today was Joy's sixth birthday and he had promised to take her swimming today, but he liked to tease her. She looked at him with wide eyes and said

"Daddy, you remember today is my birthday and you promised to take me and Harry and Katie swimming and..."

He took pity on her as he looked into her expressive eyes and smiled at her as he leaned over to give he a kiss on the tip of her nose and said

"I remember sweet pea."

He shifted and began to rise as she giggled and said

"Daddy, when can we go?"

He stood and was stretching and he winced as he felt his back pop. He wasn't getting any younger. But he felt Joy slide out of his bed and stand next to him and reach for his hand. He looked down at her and smiled and then said

"Well first we need to get some breakfast, and then we need to clean up and then we need to finish up in the garden. It's planting time and we still need to weed it. I could use your help with that."

She looked up at him and screwed up her face and said

"But I don't like weeding. It makes my hands all dirty."

He smiled and said

"I know sweet pea, but it has to be done if we want a nice garden and lots of all the things you love to eat."

She thought about it for a moment and then said, looking up at him with bright eyes and said

"Okay daddy, but I won't like it."

Tom laughed and said

"Guess what sweet pea, I didn't like to weed when I was your age either, but my mom had me help her too and she always grew the most wonderful things."

Joy was quiet for a moment and then she said softly

"I wish I could meet her...do you think she would like me?"

Tom looked at her and almost cried as he saw the hopeful look on his daughter's face. He sat on the edge of the bed and drew his daughter into a hug as he said

"Sweet pea, she will love you very much if we ever get back home."

He gently kissed her on the top of her head and hugged her for several moments.

He thought back to last year as she had asked about her mother and why she wasn't with them. He had tried to explain to her about her parents and they had even gone to visit the graves. She had stayed close to him and had never let go of his finger as she had looked at the graves. It had been a sad couple of hours, but when they returned to the house and had sat down on the porch, she had snuggled up to him and had said softly to him that he was her daddy and that she loved him very much. He had cried that day. Once after she had said those words and later when he had watched her sleep so peacefully in her small bed.

He came back to the present and said

"Come on Sweet pea, lets fix some breakfast okay?"

She nodded and jumped down and said

"Are we gonna have a party with Harry and Katie?"

They were on their way to the kitchen and the two dogs looked up at the sound of their names. They were the only two left from the brood. All the pups had gone to make there way in the world so to speak. Tom saw them sometimes and they still came and wagged their tails and seem glad to see him, but they never came home. And Tom wasn't sad. He knew the need to procreate, and they had done that. So he only had Harry and Katie. At their age they seemed content to stay and take care of Tom and Joy, and they were fearsomely loyal and protected Joy like she was their 'pup'. Tom was glad that they were, it gave him a little peace of mind.

Joy stopped and leaned down and petted both dogs who thumped their tails. Tom went into the kitchen and said

"What do you want for breakfast Munchkin?"

She skipped into the kitchen and said as she clapped her hands

"Pancakes with berries!"

He looked at her and smiled

"Again?"

"Yes,daddy,yes"

He stood for a moment and thought, then said

"Didn't we have pancakes last week, and now you want them again?"

She looked at him and could not figure out if he was serious. Then she saw the twinkle in his eye and giggled. He was teasing her

"Of course daddy, you make the best pancakes in the world!"

"Pancakes it is then!"

Tom began getting the things ready to make the cakes. When he had poured the first batch onto the hot griddle, he turned to her and said

"Why don't you set the table while I finish the pancakes."

She nodded and carefully took the two plates he handed her to the table. She came back for the silverware and two glasses and took them to the table. She set the table and then came back into the kitchen and got two napkins out of the drawer and went an placed them at there places beside the plates. She then opened the small refrigerator and got the pitcher of juice out and carefully took it to the table and placed it next to her daddy's place. She came back for the syrup and carried it to the table.

Tom had gotten one batch done and was working on the other. He knew Joy would only eat three small cakes, so he had made her's first and buttered them and now he was making himself four larger ones. They were almost done, so he turned to Joy and said

"Okay, sweet pea, go sit down and I'll be there in a minute."

She did and as she settled in her place, Tom brought the plate with the pancakes on. He had made sure the griddle was off as he sat and took her three small one and placed them on her plate. He put the platter down and reached for the syrup and poured some over her pancakes, but she wanted more. He sighed and poured a little more and it seemed to satisfy her. He then poured her some juice and she said, with her mouth full

"Thank you daddy."

"You're welcome...and don't talk with your mouth full."

She nodded but continued to eat. He smiled as he fixed his own plate and they spent the rest of breakfast planning the day.

Tom was busy with the last of his weeding. The garden was looking good and he was anxious to start planting. He sat back on his heels and looked over at Joy who was playing with Harry. He grinned as he watched them running through the grass that was just outside the garden proper. He had let her out of the weeding about an hour ago when it became obvious that she was not really helping. He watched as she ran with Harry at her heels giggling as she ran in circles. He looked down and decided he had done enough for today and stood up to brush the dust off his legs. He looked again at his daughter as she played and then he called to her

"Hey, sweet pea, lets go get ready for our afternoon."

She immediately came running to him and he took her and swung her around a couple of time. She laughed and Harry just ran in circles and barked. He took her and set her on his shoulders and she wrapped her little arms around his neck.

"Are we going to go to the lake and swim now daddy?"

"Well first we need to get our stuff and guess what?"

"What daddy, what?"

"Well, we are going to have a special picnic today because its your birthday."

They had reached the porch and Tom swung his daughter down and set her on her feet. She skipped into the house and said

"What are we having?"

Tom smiled at his daughter and said

"Well I made something very special just for you but you will have to wait till we get there. Now got get your swimsuit on."

She dashed off to the bedroom and Tom went to get the picnic lunch he had packed the night before. He had made her favorite lunch, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, lots of fresh vegetable sticks and fresh fruit and a container of lemonade he had replicated. He had added a few cookies and their lunch was ready. He took the basket out and packed it with all they needed and placed on the table. Joy came bounding out of the bedroom in her swimsuit dragging a large towel behind her.

"Look daddy, I didn't forget my towel this time!"

He took it from her and folded it up and said

"I see, but what about your shoes?"

She was standing there barefoot.

"Oh..."

She ran back into the bedroom and a moment later came back out with the shoes in hand and sat down on the floor to put them on. Tom watched and smiled at her. Since she had been four, she had been so independent and insisted on doing so much on her own. He remembered doing the same himself as a child.

"Okay munchkin, you sit and wait, and I'll be right out."

"Yes daddy."

She began petting Harry and Katie and Tom went into the bedroom and packed up what else they needed for the afternoon. He was back in ten minutes. He had a medium tote slung over his shoulder and he went to pick up the picnic basket. Turning he said

"Come on sweet pea, let go have some fun."

She was up in a moment and was out the door, with both Harry and Katie following. He brought up the rear and they headed off to the lake. It was only a little way to the to the east and was more like a swimming hole than a lake. It was only about a half mile from the home and it was in a quiet place so he knew he wouldn't have to worry about Joy. He thought of the larger lake in the pristine valley he had discovered when he had first landed here. He had been there several times before he had Joy, but he had not been there since she had come into his life. Maybe when she was older he'd take her there for a camping trip. He watched as she skipped ahead of him with the dogs right with her. They never let her out of their sight when they were outside. Tom smiled to himself. The dogs took good care of his little sweet pea.

When they reached to lake, both dogs stopped and made sure she could go no closer till Tom got there. Joy stopped and turned and said

"Hurry daddy...I want to go swimming."

He grinned at her as he placed his load under the giant tree that was overhanging the banks.

"Okay just let me get this stuff situated."

Tom watched his daughter fidget as he took the blanket out and spread it on the grass. He placed the picnic basket near the edge in the shade of the tree and then took the two towels and laid them next to the basket, all the while watching Joy as she tried not to be so anxious to be in the water. He finally straightened and chuckled as he said

"Is my little fishy ready to go swimming?"

"Yes daddy, can we go in the water now?"

She pleaded with him and he couldn't tease her any more. He took off his T-shirt and took her up in his arms and said

"Sure we can. Come on"

He walked to the edge and waded in up to his waist. The water was not any deeper and he looked at Joy waiting for her to ask. This was a game they played each time they came here and they both loved it. He had taught her to swim last year and she was pretty good for a six year old. She looked at him and then said

"Daddy lets play splashdown."

She had a glow on her face as she looked at him and he had a twinkle in his eyes as he said

"You want to play splashdown? Are you sure?"

"Yes daddy, splashdown."

He looked her in the eyes and then threw her up in the air and she came down like a cannonball and made a big splash that covered him with water. A second later she surfaced and began giggling. She began to splash him more and he returned the gesture and soon not only were the very soaked but they were both laughing.

After twenty minuets of the rough housing, they both settled down to a leisurely swim in which now the dogs join in. The four of them enjoyed a couple of hours of play in the water. Finally Tom said

"Come on sweet pea, its time for lunch." He swam over to her and she climb on his shoulders as he stood and waded out of the water, the dogs following. As soon as they got back to dry land, both dogs shook themselves and deposited more water on Tom, but he just went to the blanket and set Joy down and picked up her towel and began drying her off. Once he had her dry he wrapped the towel around her and said

"Okay let me get dried and we'll eat lunch."

He picked up his towel and began to rub himself. He gave his hair a rub and then placed the towel around his neck. His hair was longer and curled around his ears..not star fleet regulation but he wasn't in star fleet anymore. His hair had lighted up a lot to where it had a lot of blond in it like when he was a child. It was all the sunshine he'd been in these last ten years. He was still lean, but he had developed new muscle tone he hadn't had before and he felt very fit. His skin was a golden tan now and his blue eyes always seemed to have a twinkle in them. That was what his daughter had given him, a sense of contentment and...joy. She was his life now, and he hardly ever thought of his old one anymore. He looked down at her as she sat cross legged with the towel wrapped around her and she reminded him of a picture he had seen once of the old west and an Indian with the blanket wrapped around him. She looked so cute sitting there.

He lowered himself and began passing out lunch. As they ate they talked and laughed and just enjoyed the day. After lunch they had both cuddled up together and taken a nap. And then it was back in the water for more play.

As the sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon,Tom said

"Come on munchkin, time to go home."

She had been squatting on the bank with a long stick and watching it play in the water. Both Harry and Katie had been right by her making sure she didn't fall in. She turned and said

"Okay daddy."

She got up and skipped over to him as he had gathered the last of their things. She took his finger in her tiny hand and looked up at him and said

"Thank you daddy, this was a fun birthday!"

He smiled down at her and said

"I'm glad you had fun but its time to go home. Besides I have a surprise for you when we get there."

"A surprise...just for me?"

She jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"Of course just for you, did you think I meant for Harry and Katie?"

He teased as they started off towards home. She giggled at his joke and with both dogs in tow she skipped ahead of him as he wondered for the umpteenth time how little girls could have so much energy. He had to admit he was tired and he looked forward to sitting on the porch and watching the stars tonight. As they came into sight of home, Joy picked up speed as she ran pass the garden towards the house with Harry on one side and Katie on the other. Tom watched the three with a smile on his face when suddenly Joy came to a complete stop and both dogs took up position right in front of her. The smile faded and he quicken his pace as he saw the hackles on both dogs raise and he heard them both begin to growl. He dropped the things he was carrying and ran to his daughter and quickly picked her up and she clung to him with her little arms. He was now standing where she had been and the dogs now on either side of him still growling. He looked and saw... At first he didn't believe his eyes, and then in a whisper he said

"Chakotay?"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The three of them were sitting around Tom's dining room table quietly talking. Joy had fallen asleep and was on the couch covered in a quilt. After meeting the landing party and now the captain she had fell asleep in Tom's arms and he had laid her down on the couch.

"I had given up hope of ever seeing you again after a year. I would think of Voyager and wonder if anyone was still looking for me or if you even cared..."

He pause, overcome with emotion and turned away from both the captain and Chakotay.

Kathryn reached out her hand and laid it on his arm and said

"We never gave up hope that we would find you Tom. We knew from the last readings you sent from the flyer the direction we needed to go and we set course right away. It just took us ten years to get to this system. There are eleven planets in this system but only six are M class so we have been visiting them all to look for you."

Chakotay now said

"We couldn't give up hope of finding you,Tom. We weren't sure if you had been able to survive but by the looks of things here you've done well."

He was impressed with the way Tom had made a home for himself and the little girl. It was something he never thought he'd see, Tom as a father. And he could tell that he loved Joy with all his heart.

"Well after the first year,I found my little friend Harry, and then when he grew up a little, he came home one day with Katie and then it wasn't so lonely..."

Tom again trailed off and looked at the captain and continued

"I hope you don't mind me naming her after you?"

She smiled at him and said

"Not at all in fact I'm flattered that you would think of me."

Her smile was just a gentle as he remembered. It warmed his heart. He turned to Chakotay and said

"Well within that first year she had three puppies, one female and two males...I named them B'Elanna, Tuvok and..."

He looked at the first officer as he continued

"Chakotay."

Chakotay just chucked and said

"I'm honored, but how did you decided which one was to be named after me?"

For the first time since this afternoon, Tom actually laughed.

"Well that one seemed...so in control."

"You mean in command?"

Chakotay again chuckled. He was glad to see Tom loosen up a bit.

"Yeah, Chak, he was, always bossing the other two around.."

Chakotay saw the twinkle in his eyes and smiled as he said

"Well at least he was in character!"

Now Kathryn said

"Where are they? I've only seen the two parents."

Tom gave her a sad look and said

"They left when they grew up...went looking for mates and to start new families. I see them every so often, and they seem to remember me but they never came home. Harry and Katie though seem content to stay with Joy and me."

He got up and went to check on his daughter. She was sound asleep, and he gently picked her up and excused himself as he took her and put her to bed. As he laid her in her bed and covered her up, he watched her for a moment, tears falling as he lightly brushed her curls off her forehead.

"Sweetie, I love you so. You have made my life worth living and I promise you we will never be separated."

He leaned down and lightly kissed her cheek. After a moment, he took and wiped the tears away and went back into the main room. He sat back down and said

"Joy has been the light in my life these last six years. Without her, my life would have been just bearable. I don't know if I could have survived these last six years without her."

Both Chakotay and Kathryn saw something in his eyes that they had never seen there before. It was a maturity the pilot had never shown before. The man they remembered was carefree and mischievous, but now he showed a new determination to protect his daughter at all costs. But most of all they saw the devotion and love he felt. No longer was he the playboy with not a care in the world now he was the responsible parent and they decided at the same moment that he was no longer the man they had known. It was going to take him a long time to settle back into his old life, if he ever did. They would need to get to know this new Tom Paris.

"How much time do I have?"

Tom asked the captain. She looked at him with a question in her eyes and he continued

"How long till you need to leave orbit and continue home?"

Now Chakotay softly said

"What are you saying Tom?"

Tom turned his intense blue eyes to look at Chakotay and said

"I need to make a decision and I need to know how long I have to make it."

Both the captain and first officer looked at each other with a surprised look on their faces. Never in there wildest dreams had they ever though Tom would not come with them. Had he changed that much? Would he decide to stay here? Now Kathryn said in a soft voice

"Tom, we want you with us very much, and of course Joy is welcome too. What decision do you need to make?"

Tom turned to her and paused for a moment before he spoke

"Captain if I come back, I need to take some things with me and It's things I'm not willing to leave behind."

"What things?"

He sighed and then said

"Well, all of Joy's things, her toys and such, I've got lots of preserved foods and canned things I want to bring, and...Harry and Katie, I will not leave them behind."

At the last two requests, he was animate. If he could not take the dogs, he would decide he and Joy would stay. Chakotay looked at the Captain to judge her reaction. He was sure as he watched Tom that if Kathryn refused him, he would not come back. And at this moment, he knew in his heart he wanted Tom back. He had missed the young pilot a lot, all the battering and joking on the bridge had been a welcome diversion that had sorely been missed by all, even Tuvok.

Kathryn looked into Tom's eyes and saw the truth there. He would not come if she denied his request. She knew that star fleet was not against pets on board star ships. The Galaxy class ships that had families aboard did have pets. She thought back to Molly and knew in her heart she would have brought her if she had known that Voyager would be flung into the DQ. She looked at Chakotay and saw he was in favor of this and then back at Tom. He had a determined look on his face, but his eyes had a pleading look in them. The two dogs had gotten him through the first four years he had been stranded on this planet. How could she deny him? She couldn't. Finally she said with a smile on her face

"Of course Tom I will allow it. I know how much they mean to you and I'm not heartless."

Tom let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and his eyes began to sting with tears as they threaten to fall.

"Thank you Captain. The dogs have become very important to Joy and me."

She reached out and again patted his arm and said

"Now its getting late you need some rest and we will beam back to the ship. Tomorrow we'll come back and help you pack."

Tom suddenly realized just how tired he was. He felt drained both physically and mentally. He nodded and as he stood to walk them out to the front yard he suddenly yawned.

"I think you're right Captain, I am tired."

She nodded and said

"We will see you tomorrow, and I know both Harry and B'Elanna will be coming down to help. They are both anxious to see you."

Tom smiled and said

"Well you had better warn them I've changed. Don't want them to be expecting the old Tom."

He grinned and then had a big yawn again and suddenly he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Chakotay chucked and said

"Get some sleep, Tom. We will be down tomorrow to help you."

"Thanks Chakotay...but not too earlier or you might find me still asleep."

As the transported began to take them, another yawn split his face. When they had gone, Tom took a moment to look up to the sky and thought he saw Voyager but then he decided he was just too tired to know for sure. He turned and went back in and quietly went into the bedroom. Joy was still fast asleep and he was ready to join her. It had been a long day. He quietly got out of his clothes and pulled on his sweat pants and tiredly laid down on his bed. His mind though would not shut down. He looked out the window and watched the double moons as they continued to go through the sky. What did he think? Was he happy that Voyager had finally found him...them? How would he integrate back into the ship's culture? Would he still be able to pilot the ship? Or was that now a job he wouldn't be able to do? Had he been replaced for good? Well he had for the last ten years. Would he be welcomed back, and more importantly would the crew welcome Joy into their family? He was bound and determined that no one would hurt his little sweet pea. She was his life now, and he would do anything to protect her from harm. He sighed and tried to shut down his brain but he just couldn't. His thoughts turned to B'Elanna and he wondered if she was with someone or if she still was unattached? They had been starting a relationship at the time he was lost, but even though he still had feelings for her he wondered if she still did for him? Had she moved on? At that thought, his heart began to ache. And it was at that point he realized he had years ago fallen in love with the fiery Klingon. And Harry? What was he like now? Was he still that naïve green Ensign or had he harden up? He hoped not. He still thought of him as the little brother he had never had, and he liked him just the way he was. Finally as the moons rose past his line of sight, he was able to drift off into a deep sleep.

The next morning Tom woke to feel a hand rubbing his cheek. He opened his eyes to see that Joy had climbed into bed with him and was lightly stroking his cheek. He smiled and said sleepily

"Morning sweet pea did you sleep well?"

She thought for a moment and then said

"Yes daddy, but I'm wondering? Are we going to leave here and go away?"

He sobered and as he rolled over onto his back he took and snuggled her close to him as he said

"Yes we are. We are going to go to Voyager and continue on to my home. When we get there then you will met your grandparents and all your aunts and uncles and cousins."

She thought about it for a moment and then said

"But won't you miss our home here?"

He drew here closer and said softly

"Sweet pea, you are my home. Wherever we go, we always have each other and that is home to me. Do you understand?"

"Not really daddy, but if it makes you happy then it makes me happy too."

She smiled at him and again he had to hold back the emotion that threatened to overcome him. How could a six year old be so intuitive? He lightly kissed her on the top of her head and said

"You make me happy."

She sighed as she patted his arm with her hand. She loved her daddy so much and wanted him to be happy. But she was a little sad to leave the only home she had ever known. After a few minutes Tom said

"Time to get cleaned up and dressed. We need to be ready when they get here to help us pack."

He moved to get up and Joy followed him and got up too. She went to her small dresser and opened a drawer and got out her outfit for the day, a pair of shorts and her favorite t-shirt. As she turned towards her daddy he said

"Once you've had your bath, I'll get cleaned up and then we will have breakfast."

"Okay daddy."

She said as they walked out to the other room. A year ago, Tom had built a small bathroom off the kitchen and had hooked the hot water so they could bathe in the house. Now Tom walked to the bathroom and started the water for her bath. She followed him and laid her clothes on the counter and then watched as her daddy tested the temperature of the water. When the level was right, he turned the water off and turned to his daughter and said

"Okay, you take your bath and I'll start breakfast."

He left her to clean up and he went to start breakfast. He kept one ear tuned to his daughter as he made breakfast for them both. He decided to make something simple, so he got out the loaf of bread that was already three quarters gone. He had bake a couple of loafs and would take the other with them. He had decided to take all the perishables with him. No sense in letting it spoil and rot. He had also decided to take the small fridge he had made. It would be just the right size to keep Joy's juices and snacks in. As he began cutting the bread, he called to his daughter

"Sweet pea, you okay in there?"

He hadn't heard anything for the last two minutes and was about to go check on her but her voice came out to him

"I'm almost dressed daddy, I'll be out in a minute."

Tom smiled as he thought of her and her independent ways. She had always like taking care of things herself. He finished with the breakfast as she came out of the bathroom, her hair still damp but combed. Her cheeks were rosy and she smelled of soap.

"Sit down and we'll eat and then I'll get cleaned up."

She did and they ate in silence. After the meal, Tom took the dirty dishes and cleaned up as Joy watched him and when he was through, he laid the towel down on the counter. He stood there for a moment and said nothing. Finally Joy said

"Daddy, is everything okay?"

He turned and said

"Yes everything is fine. Now I'm going to take my shower so you stay inside for now and I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Okay daddy, I'll just sit with Harry and Katie and..."

She trailed off as if she had suddenly thought of something. She turned to him with a scared look on her face and whispered

"We are taking Harry and Katie...aren't we?"

Tom saw the look on her face and saw her lower lip begin to tremble. He was beside her in a second and scooped her up into his arms and hugged her to him as he said

"Of course we are, I wouldn't leave without our family."

She had begun to cry and now she just wrapped her arms around him and said

"Oh daddy I was so scared we couldn't take them with us. I would miss them."

"I know sweet pea me too, but I told Captain Janeway we would not leave them behind, so don't worry."

She plastered a slobbery kiss on his cheek and said

"I love you so much daddy."

"I know, my love, I know. Now you sit and let them know we are all going while I clean up, okay?"

She nodded and as he set her down she sat down on the floor and began to earnestly talk to the dogs, who just wagged their tails. Tom took one last look at her and then went into the bedroom to get his clothes for the day. He came back out and saw that Joy was still busy talking to her friends so he went and took his shower.

The bulk of the belongings had been beamed up to their new quarters. They had spent the morning packing and sorting through their things. Now it was early afternoon, and the Captain and Chakotay had beamed back leaving just Harry and B'Elanna with Tom and Joy. Joy was napping on the couch, having pooped out a little over three quarters of an hour ago. She was sleeping on the couch as the three old friends sat at the table drinking juice. Their reunion had been emotional to say the least. He still couldn't get over the fact that Harry was now a lieutenant and B'Elanna, a lieutenant commander. It seemed things had changed in the last ten years. And Tuvok was now a full commander. Even though B'Elanna now out ranked him, He still out ranked Harry. Now they were quietly talking and waiting for Joy to wake up.

"We've been able to set up a new place for you and Joy, Tom. We were able to knock the walls out and connected three cabins for you. Two bedrooms and a main living room and small kitchen."

B'Elanna said as she sipped her juice. She watched Tom as he smiled and said

"Thanks, we have sorta gotten use to some space."

Now Harry spoke up and said

"Yeah, we worked on it most of the night. Its really nice, The largest cabin would be your bedroom and the smallest will be Joy's. The main room is spacious and we incorporated a nice kitchen area for you."

Harry had been impressed that Tom was such a good cook, as they had enjoyed some of Tom's baked goods after they had finished.

"So, Tom why didn't you ever tell us you could cook and bake?"

B'Elanna was looking at him with a grin and Tom just melted at looking into her eyes after so many years.

"Well, no one asked and I've gotten better at it these last ten years. My mom taught me a lot and even though my dad thought it was a waste of my time, I always enjoyed being in the kitchen with my mom."

His eyes got a far away look in them as he remembered the times he had spent with his mom cooking or baking. It had been one of his fondest memories of home. He continued

"My uncle Jon taught me how to live off the land, so I was able to get along pretty well here. The worst was no one to talk to. The first year was hell, but then I got the dogs and then my little sweet pea."

He turned to look at her still sleeping and he smiled so tenderly that both Harry and B'Elanna followed suit.

"She's adorable, Tom"

B'Elanna said as she also looked at the little bundle on the couch.

"Yeah, I never knew I could love someone so much until she came into my life. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost her..."

He trailed off and then turned to face his two friends.

"Sorry its just I had resigned myself to the idea that we'd never get home and I so much want my folks to me her. I know that my mom will adore her."

They both saw he didn't include his father in that statement. Harry said now

"Tom, we've been in touch with star fleet and your father. They have sent us specifications on how to improve the warp engines, and we've been working on it for the last two years. It's promising and as soon as we get it done, it should take only a couple of years to get home."

Tom looked at one then the other with an look of disbelief but B'Elanna continued

"It's true, we began getting communications from the AQ a little over four years ago and we have gotten a lot of help updating the engines. But we wouldn't test it till we found you. Your dad was quite broken up when he heard what had happened to you and told us to please do everything to find you. Tom he truly loves you and misses you."

Now Harry took up the thought

"We were bound and determined to find you anyway, but your dad has been a force not to be denied."

Now there were tears in Tom's eyes, but he didn't care. It was one thing to know that his friends had missed him, but to realize that his dad had pushed to find him overwhelmed him. His father really loved him? He had so wanted to make his dad proud of him and all he had done in his early life was disappoint him. Now he found out that his dad missed him. All of a sudden, it was too much to take in and he lowered his head and cried. He didn't care that they saw him break down. He was after all a different man than he had been when he had last seen them both. Now B'Elanna got up and moved to his side and wrapped him into a hug and said

"Tom, we all missed you and didn't want to continue on this journey home till we found you. Harry missed you and...I missed you too."

This last she said in a whisper as he leaned down and gently kissed him on his cheek. He looked first at Harry and then at B'Elanna, tears still running down his cheeks and said

"I had convinced myself that no one on Voyager cared...I thought that you all would be better off without me. I'm sorry I ever doubted you."

He leaned his head on B'Elanna as she stroked his hair and took a deep breath that was filled with her aroma...something that felt very familiar to him, and very much something he wanted in his life. Harry asked as he stood.

"You ready to go, Tom?"

He nodded and standing he put his arm around Lanna and kissed her gently on the cheek. He reached out to Harry who stepped over to him and Tom placed his other arm around his shoulders, and the three friends stood there for a moment, savoring the moment. Then Tom went and scooped up Joy into his arms and said

"Let's go home guys."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When they materialized on the transporter pad, Joy had taken a stronger hold around Tom's neck and had buried her face into his shoulder. He absently patted her back and softly whispered in her ear

"It's okay sweet pea, we're here...you're safe."

She slightly nodded but refused to move her head. Looking down, Tom saw that the rest of the senior staff was standing in front of him. The smile on both the captain and Chakotay's faces were warm and welcoming, and he thought for a moment he saw a slight smile on Tuvok's face. But no it couldn't be, Vulcan's didn't smile. As B'Elanna and Harry moved off the pads, Tom just stood for the moment with his daughter held tightly to him as if he was afraid someone would try to take her away. Now the captain stepped forward and said

"Welcome home, Tom."

She had placed a hand gently on Joy's back and continued

"And Joy, welcome aboard your new home, we are glad to have you in our family."

Slowly, she looked at the captain and then said

"Thank you Captain. Daddy has told me many stories of here."

She began to look around and when her eyes landed on Tuvok, they widen and then she turned to Tom and whispered a little too loudly as she said

"Daddy that man has funny ears...They are pointed, And he looks stern...he kinda scares me...will he hurt us?"

Tom's eyes briefly flicked to Tuvok and he saw...amusement? He sighed and said as he walked over to the Vulcan

"Joy, This is Mr. Tuvok. He is from the planet named Vulcan and he is third in command after the captain and Chakotay. He will not hurt you. Now I want you to tell him you are sorry for saying what you did."

He gave her a firm look and she dropped her eyes and softly said

"Yes daddy."

She turned and looked at Tuvok and said softly

"I'm sorry Mr Tuvok."

She again dropped her head and after a moment Tuvok said in his quiet voice

"I accept your apology, Miss Paris, as a Vulcan I take no offense and am...pleased to have you on board and that your...father is back with us."

She raised her head and then gently reached out to him and lightly touched his ear before Tom could stop her. Tuvok seemed not to mind as he let her lightly run her finger over the point of his ear. She seemed fascinated with the tip. She turned to Tom and said

"I think I like his ears...They look different than ours."

"Yes they do sweet pea."

Tom was relieved that Tuvok had not minded his daughter touching his ear. But then he remembered that Tuvok was a father and was probably used to it. Now, the captain said

"Come on Tom, lets get you and Joy to sickbay so the doctor can check you both out."

She began to move towards the door, with the rest in tow and as the doors opened and they moved out into the hall, Tom was startled and he stopped in his tracks and just stared. Joy felt his surprise and then his unbelief and she again turned and buried her face in his shoulder. For, as far as he could see down the hall were the crew, lined up on either side of the corridor and they were looking at him and...smiling. He couldn't understand it. This was something you did when a dignitary came on board. Not something he deserved. He looked at the faces of the senior staff and saw they were all smiling at him. Even Tuvok, though he was not smiling, had a look of pleasure on his face. For a moment Tom just stood there, thinking his knees were going to give out on him. It was too overwhelming. They really had missed him...he had been missed. He buried his head into his daughters hair and breathed deeply. It was good to be home. When he felt a hand on his arm, he looked up, tears streaming down his cheeks to see the warm and loving look on B'Elanna's face as she said

"We all missed you Tom...everyone did."

Tom shifted Joy and took his free hand and wiped at his face and finally said in a shaky voice

"I was not sure..."

"Shh Tom, lets get you both to sickbay so you can be checked over."

With that, she took his arm gently and they all began to walk to sickbay. As they did, many of the crew reached out and touched him as if to make sure he was real and said how glad they were that they had finally found him. He acknowledged them all with a smile and words of his own. He was still overwhelmed as the lines of crew went all the way to sickbay. For a moment, he wondered if anyone was manning the ship, but then forgot it as the doors to sickbay opened and he stepped in and laid eyes on the Doc for the first time in ten years. Of course his appearance had not changed, but it seemed his manner had. He smiled at Tom and said in a kindly manner

"Mr Paris, it is so good to see you again. Welcome home"

Tom was taken aback and he turned to Harry and said

"Did you guys change the Doc?"

Now the doctor laughed and said

"No, Mr Paris, I'm the same but after you disappeared, the rest of the crew began treating me like a person, and I have you to thank. After all, you were the first to treat me like anyone else...I truly appreciated it. Thank you"

As he walked over to Tom he continued

"And this must be you daughter?"

He was leading them over to a bio-bed.

"Hop up and I'll check you both out."

Tom did, still a little confused at the Doc's easy bed side manner, something he wasn't used to. The doctor took his medical scanner and ran it over Tom and then looked at it's readings

"Well, I see you've kept yourself in good condition. You seem quite fit for having been gone ten years."

"Thanks Doc, I mostly ate vegetables and fruits, but once in a while I replicated some red meat and chicken. We had lots of fish though from the stream near out home."

He was now looking down at his daughter as she had finally decided to lift her head from his shoulder. She was looking around and the wonder on her face was something to behold. He leaned down and said

"What are you thinking sweetie?"

Her eyes were large and she said

"There are so many people here and this place is...large."

He knew she was referring to the ship. He smiled and said

"Yeah, sweet pea it is, and there are lots of people here who want to be your friend. And one of those new friends is the Doctor here so do you think you can sit still and let him check you over while I talk to the others?"

She leaned around him and looked at the doctor with curious eyes. He really didn't look so scary so she looked up at her daddy and said

"Okay daddy."

He slid off the bio-bed and hugged her and said

"Okay, now be good."

The doctor came over and began to run his scanner over the child as she watched him. Finally she said

"My daddy told me about you, he said he used to help you."

The doctor nodded and said

"Yes, he did."

As he continued to do the checkup, Tom walked over to the others and said

"It's been a long time, but sickbay looks the same."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow and said

"Indeed, Mr Paris, I do not think anything has changed."

Tom hide his smile at Tuvok's reply and then got serious as he said

"Look Tuvok, I'm sorry for what Joy said earlier. She hasn't seen anyone else except me and..."

Before he could continue, Tuvok raised his hand and said

"Mr Paris if you are under the impression that I am offended, then you are mistaken."

"I know, Tuvok, its just that she needs to learn to be more...diplomatic in what she says."

"Mr Paris, on Vulcan, children are most valued and I assure you even Vulcan children need to learn...diplomacy in what they say. My own children went through a rather awkward stage at that age."

Tom nodded and turned slightly to look at his daughter as she seemed engrossed in telling the Doc something and he was surprised that the Doc was actually listening to her chatter. He shook his head and grinned as he said

"It seems the Doc has made a friend."

The rest of them turned and watched as the doctor continued to do his exam as Joy told him a story about her birthday swim and how much fun she had with her daddy. Tom walked over and said

"Hey, sweet pea are you telling the Doc about our swimming hole?"

He picked her up and held her up at arms length before he gathered her back into a bear hug. She giggled and said

"Oh yes daddy, it was fun and the doctor said he would have liked to be with us."

She leaned in and whispered in his ear, but they all heard her say

"I like it here and everyone seems so nice...even Mr Tuvok. I like them."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek. He returned one on the top of her head and said

"I'm glad you do. We have many friends here."

Now the doctor said

"Mr Paris, I want to congratulate you on keeping both yourself and your daughter in such excellent health. For being alone for ten years, you managed well."

"Thanks Doc, I tried to make sure we ate well and healthy. I also tried to exercise but just taking care of our home was almost a full time job. We had a good size garden..."

At the mention of the garden, Joy screwed up her face and said

"Daddy made me weed it with him, I hate weeding...gets you all dirty, and then I had to take a bath. I could have got clean swimming, but daddy always insisted I had to take a bath instead."

The look on her face made Tom chuckle as he said

"Bath time was good!"

Now Joy began to smile as she picked it up

"Swimming's better..."

"Is not..."

"Is too..."

"Not..."

"Is.."

The people watching could tell this was a game they played and thought how this little angel had really saved Tom's sanity. B'Elanna had to hide her face for a moment as she thought of how lonely Tom would have been if not for Joy, and the Captain just wiped a tear away as he watched her pilot play with his daughter. It was at that moment that she knew how much he loved her and how much of a good father he was. And it was at this moment that she thanked the powers that be that Tom had not taken after his own father. Admiral Paris had made many mistakes with his only son, but his harshness had not rubbed off on Tom. It was obvious that he was a big softy. She was also glad that his father had softened in his older age and she was anxious to let him know that they had found his son alive and well.

Tom turned and realized that the others had been watching his little game, and he grinned and said

"Sorry, just a little game we play..."

B'Elanna walked up to him and said with a smile on her face

"Don't worry Tom, I think its kinda cute... shows off a different side to you."

She put her arm around him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Now Joy looked at B'Elanna and said

"Are you daddy's girlfriend and will you be my new mommy?"

Tom almost dropped her as he began chocking, and B'Elanna had to steady both of them, but she looked at Joy with a smile in her eyes and on her face as she replied

"Yes sweetie, I am your daddy's girlfriend and as to being your new mommy..."

She looked up at Tom

"That is entirely up to your daddy."

Tom looked at her with a wondrous look and cleared his throat but before he could say anything, Joy clapped her hands and said

"Oh goody. He told me lots of good stories about you and how much he missed you and..."

As she continued her chatter, Tom began to redden and then he said quickly

"Well why don't we go see our new quarters, what do you say?"

"Oh yes daddy, lets go see our new home."

He started towards the door and looked at the captain and said

"Will you show the way?"

She smiled and nodded and said

"We all will, come on."

The senior staff left and Tom followed with Joy still in his arms, glad to get off the subject of B'Elanna. He was having a hard enough time keeping his hands and lips off of her as it was and now Joy had brought up his stories he had told her. He didn't understand, he had told her countless stories of Voyager and her crew. Had he spent more time talking of B'Elanna? He didn't think he had. Had he? Well maybe he had. He knew he loved B'Elanna...had since before he was lost. Now he thought he knew that she felt the same way. He decided to talk to her later...after he had put Joy to bed.

They had arrived at a door, and the captain entered a code and the door swished open. They all stepped back and let Tom enter. It was spacious and the main room was quite large. There was a large comfy couch on one wall and on the other wall was a desk and long bookcase sort of thing. He noticed that his books and stuff had already been arranged and he place Joy down and walked over to run his hands over the books...his books. They had kept them for him. He looked around and found all his things arranged around the room...his books...his collection of vids...and his home made TV that B'Elanna had assembled for him. His eyes took in the couch and he saw his grandmother's colorful afghan that she had made for him when he had left for Star Fleet Academy. Joy was looking around with wonder on her face. She looked at her daddy and saw the look on his face. She walked over to him and said as she took his hand

"Daddy, don't be sad."

Tom looked down at her and said

"I'm not sad sweet pea...just a little overwhelmed."

He turned to them all and said as he wiped a single tear away as it trickled down his face

"Thank you...this means so much to me...you kept my stuff..."

He trailed off again as B'Elanna said

"Of course we did, we just knew we would find you."

"Come on Tom, lets see the rest of the place."

Chakotay said as he led the way to the door to the other side. Tom followed and saw they had entered a large bedroom and then through the other door they entered the bathroom. There was another door and that led into a smaller bedroom that was set up for a little girl. The bed had a colorful quilt and there was a large toy chest that was opened and toys almost spilling out. On the bed was Joy's large teddy bear. There was a closet with lots of girly type clothes and a small dresser on the wall next to the closet. Joy let out a squeal and ran over to the toys and began taking them out. Tom watched and said to the adults

"Thank you, she loves to play and you have provided her with lots of toys, and the clothes..."

"We all chipped in some of our rations. We wanted her to feel at home."

Chakotay said as he watched the little girl pull out a doll and hug it. She seemed so excited and she got up and come over to Tom and said

"Look daddy, she looks just like the princess you told me about..."

Her eyes were shinning and Tom smiled at her and said

"Yes she does. Maybe you should say thank you to everyone."

She looked at them all and said with excitement

"Thank you all for these wonderful toys. I've never seen so many before."

She turned and skipped back to the toy box, completely absorbed in the toys. The adults went back to the main room, and it was then he noticed the kitchen area. It was compact, but functional. It had a small cook top and oven, a sink and a medium size refrigerator. He was glad that he would still be able to bake, as he knew Joy loved his baking and he didn't want to bother Neelix for the use of his ovens unless he needed to.

"Guys, this is great thanks so much."

They all were happy that Tom seemed to be settling in to his new home. Now Kathryn said

"I think we need to let Tom settle in and rest. It's been a long day and I sure you're tired, but before we go, there is something I want to give you."

She reached for a small box that had been sitting on the table and handed it to Tom. He looked at it and then at her with a raise eyebrow and said

"What is it?"

"Open it and see."

He opened the box and saw...two silver pips and one black one. Lt Commander pips. He looked up with a surprised look on his face. Now they were all smiling..with the exception of Tuvok but he had a look of amusement in his eyes.

"Mr Paris, I hereby grant you the rank of Lt Commander retroactive back to when you were lost. Congratulations."

For a moment he was speechless, but then he found his voice and said with much emotion in his voice

"Thank you Captain, I will try to never disappoint you. I hope I can live up to your expectations."

"You will Tom, I have no doubt of that. Now you get some rest and you are off duty till further notice. You need time to settle in and to help Joy settle in too."

She turned to the others and said

"Come on, let's let Tom rest."

No one argued with their captain, but B'Elanna hung back a bit and whispered to Tom

"If you want to..."

She left the rest to his imagination and he smiled and nodded. Then they had left and he stood there with a goofy grin on his face.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Tom was still standing in the middle of the room with that same goofy grin when he felt a small hand on his. He looked down to see not only his daughter looking up at him, but also Harry and Katie sitting and looking at him tails wagging.

"Daddy, I let them out of their box, they looked sad."

Tom stooped down and ran his hands over the dogs and reached to scratch behind their ears and the tails wagged harder. He stood back up and looked at his daughter and picked her up. He moved to the couch and sat down with her on his lap. She snuggled close and he began to absently run his fingers through her unruly curls. After a moment he said

"So sweet pea, what are you thinking?"

"I like it here Daddy, and the people all seem nice...I think we should stay."

She said it with conviction and Tom smiled at her as he said

"Okay, I think we will."

She reached up and patted his cheek and said

"I will miss our other home Daddy...and our swimming hole..."

Tom got a warm look on his face and then said

"Well, sweetie don't worry about swimming. Do you remember me telling you about the holodeck?"

She nodded and then her eyes lit up and she said excitedly

"We can go there to swim?"

She was getting excited and Tom was loving it

"If you give me some time, I think I can recreate our swimming hole for you."

She clapped her hands and said

"Please Daddy oh please?"

He took and hugged her and said

"Okay but it may take me some time, after all its been ten long years since I've had a chance to play around with a holodeck..."

But Joy didn't seem to mind. She was happy with the idea that she would still be able to go swimming. They sat there in silence as they both enjoyed the closeness of each other. Tom had closed his eyes and was close to nodding off when he felt the difference in the way the ship was handling. He opened his eyes and looked out the port at the stars and then said to Joy

"Sweetie look out the port and watch..."

She did and what she saw amazed her, for suddenly the stars that were twinkling out the port suddenly began to streak and elongate and for a moment they seemed to be moving. She felt the ship jump and then settle down, but the stars still seemed to be moving in streaks. Her eyes remained the size of saucers as he looked at her dad and he smiled at her and said

"We've just gone to warp..."

He seemed to pause for a moment and then continued

"I'd say probably 6.5 or maybe 7..."

She looked at him with wonder in her eyes and said

"How can you tell?"

He again smiled and said

"Well, its just the way the ship feels...something a good pilot would feel..the vibrations in the deck.."

She got off his lap and stood and after a moment she looked at him with a confused look on her face

"I don't feel anything."

Tom smiled again and said

"Well usually most people can feel the vibrations in the deck plating, but only an engineer or pilot would be able to judge the speed."

Joy was still mesmerized at the stars streaking by. Tom watched for a moment with the look of love in his eyes as he enjoyed her look of wonderment. His little girl had lots of things to learn and he was looking forward to teaching her.

"Come on sweet pea, lets see what we can rustle up for dinner."

He moved towards the small kitchen area and opened the door to the fridge and saw that it had been stocked not only with his things he had transported up that morning, but there was other things too. He just stood for a moment and then grinned as he shook his head. There were several containers of food, and he reached for a yellow one. It contained a pasta salad and looked good. He took it out and placed it on the counter. He took out another and looked and found slices of all kinds of fruit. He decided that he was entirely too tired to really do any real cooking, so he decided that this would suffice along with some home made bread he had brought. He turned to say something to Joy, but she was still watching the stars, so he just continued getting their dinner ready.

Once he had everything ready, he turned and saw both Harry and Katie looking at him with their big brown eyes. He smiled at them and turned to check on the bag of food he had left from the planet. He filled their bowls and set them down and both dogs began to eat. He then walked over to his daughter and said

"Come on sweetie, time to eat."

He picked her up and carried her over to the table and deposited her on the chair and then sat down himself. He took her plate and dished up the pasta salad and the fruit, and then took a piece of bread and put some butter on it and a little jam and then handed her the plate. He filled her glass with milk and then began to place food on his plate.

"Daddy, where are we going?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, why are we going so fast and where are we going and how long will it take?"

She said all of this in one breath and with a mouth full of pasta. Tom had to hide his grin but said

"What did I tell you about talking with your mouth full?"

She chewed and then swallowed and said

"Sorry daddy, I forgot."

She looked at him with downcast eyes, but he said warmly

"Don't worry, sweetie, but in company its not polite to talk with your mouth full. I just want you to remember that okay?"

She nodded at him and took another bite of her dinner.

"Now to answer your questions, we are going home...to Earth, and we are not really going that fast, but at a good cruising speed, and unless we find some sort of shortcut, it's going to take a long time to get there I'm afraid."

He watched the look on her face and knew she was thinking. When she had finally decided on what she wanted to say, she did

"I hope we find a shortcut then, so we can get home sooner. I want to see Earth cause you told me so many wonderful stories and I want to meet my grandma and grandpa...Do you think they will like me?"

It broke his heart when she'd ask this question. He knew his mother would adore Joy, and he was hoping beyond hope that his dad would too. His sisters would spoil her rotten and she would not want for playmates, as he knew they both had children of there own. He looked at his daughter and said

"They will absolutely adore and cherish you as I do. And my sisters, your aunts, will spoil you rotten"

The smile that lit her face was something he could not get enough of. She happily finished her dinner and then as he cleaned up, she played with the dogs.

Once he was done, he sat on the couch and watched his little brood play chase. After an hour he scooped his daughter up and announce

"It's time for bath and bed."

She screwed her face up and said

"Do I have to take a bath? I'm not dirty."

He smiled at her and said

"Yes, you have to take a bath. Just because we're on Voyager, doesn't mean we can skip our nightly bath."

He stood with her still in his arms and started towards the bathroom. When he got there, he put her down and began to run the water for her. He filled the tub about one quarter full and then turned the water off. He turned to her and said

"Okay, off with those dirty clothes and into the tub, I'll get your jammies and make sure the bed is turned down for you...no making a mess though."

He looked at her and she said

"Okay daddy."

As she started to undress, he went into her room and over to the dresser. He opened the second drawer and took out a pair of PJ's for her, all the time keeping his ear pealed to her. He heard her get into the tub and then he heard water splashing around. He said

"I don't want to find a wet floor when I come back."

The splashing subsided and he grinned to himself. He took and turned down the bed and straighten the pillow for her. He took the stuffed bear and placed it on the pillow and then stood back for a moment and looked at the bed. The bear she had since she was a baby, and it was showing signs of wear and tear, but it was her favorite stuffed animal. She loved sleeping with him...Goofy. She had named the bear after a cartoon character he had told her about. Never mind that Goofy was a dog, the bear had become Goofy. He sighed and picked up the PJ's and went back into the bathroom.

"You done sweet pea?"

She nodded and he got a large fluffy towel and as she got out of the tub, he dried her off. He picked up the PJ's and said

"Raise your arms."

She did and he slipped it over her head. He took the brush and combed her curls, and then he had her brush her teeth. When she was done he said.

"Come on sweetie time for bed."

She reached for his hand and they went into her bedroom. As they got near the bed, Tom scooped her up in his arms and said

"Who's my little sweet pea?"

She laughed and said

"I am."

He began to swing her around and said

"Are you sure?"

She continued to laugh and said

"Yes daddy me...me!"

He had continued to swing her as he moved closer to the bed and at the right time, he let her bounce down on the bed. She giggled and said

"Tell me a story daddy, please?"

"A story? Well..."

"Please daddy just one story?"

Tom looked at her sparkly eyes and sat on the edge of the bed and said

"Okay...one story and then it sleep time for you..."

So he told her favorite story of the princess who was rescued by the handsome prince and soon she was fast asleep. Both Harry and Katie had joined them and were now laying on the soft bed that was in the corner of the room so they could keep an eye on Joy. Tom stood after lightly kissing his daughter on her cheek and lightly brushing a golden curl off her forehead.

"Good night my little princess sleep well."

He turned and left the room, secure in the knowledge that they were safe and sound aboard Voyager. He left the door ajar so he could hear if Joy needed anything during the night. He went back into the main room and stood for a moment before he quietly asked the computer the time

"It is 19:45"

He thought for a moment and said

"Computer, location of Lt Commander B'Elanna Torres?"

"Lt Commander Torres is in her quarters."

The reply came. He smiled and went over to the desk where his communicator was. He knew he'd have to get use to wearing one again, and he full well intended to get one for Joy too. He had no desire to have her wander around the ship without a way to find her. He attached the communicator to his shirt and then lightly tapped it to open a channel.

"Paris to Torres...B'Elanna you busy?"

He hoped not as he so wanted to see her tonight. He received an answer almost immediately

"Tom, I'm not what's up?"

He cleared his throat and then said

"Uh B'Elanna, I just thought maybe..."

Before he could finish his sentence he heard her soft voice say

"I'll be there in a minute Tom."

And the channel was closed.

He grinned and then he became anxious. He looked around and decided that the room was presentable. He heard the announcer chime and nervously he went to the door to open it. As the door slide open, he felt the softest lips on his, and as he was gently moved backwards until he was all the way in the room, the lips never left his. For a moment he just stood there and then instinct took over and he deepened the kiss and placed his arms around the warm body of the chief engineer.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Tom slowly came awake with the most satisfied feeling he'd had in a long time. His dream had been...wonderful. He had dreamed he was back on Voyager and he and B'Elanna had...

Suddenly he became aware of the fact that he was not alone. A warm body was next to him, against his body and he knew. It had not been a dream. He was back on Voyager and he was in bed with B'Elanna. The night before came crashing back into his mind. They had engaged in the most erotic night he'd ever known. He sighed and gently drew her closer to him, deeply inhaling her scent. Oh how he had missed her. As he thought about it, tears came unbidden to his eyes. He realized he had given up any hope of ever seeing her again and it had torn him apart. Like someone ripping his heart out. Only finding Joy had he been able to bear the deep depression that had come over his miserable life. He allowed the tears to flow as he thanked the gods for his daughter. She had saved his sanity.

He buried his face in B'Elanna's shoulder and began weeping uncontrollably.

"Tom what's wrong?"

B'Elanna had woke up as he had drew her closer to him and had reveled in his closeness. She had missed him so much and now they had spent his first night back in the most incredible lovemaking she had ever had. They had started out with the most frantic kissing and touching, but once they had made it to his bed, Tom had taken her to the heights of ecstasy. He had been gentle and loving thinking only of her pleasure and had spent what seemed like hours just worshiping her body. When they finally had joined together, the results had been overwhelming, and Tom had collapsed next to her and had immediately took her in his arms and had snuggled down and had said only two words before he had drifted off...love you. Now he was crying and clinging to her. She rolled to face him and said again

"Tom, please tell me what's wrong."

It took him a moment but he finally said

"Oh B'Elanna, I missed you so. I thought that I would go insane. The first year I thought of you so much that I knew I couldn't last long. Then the dogs came into my life, and I was able to at least talk to them...although they never answered me, I began to think they actually understood me...I told them all about you and my life on Voyager. When Harry was just a pup, he'd sit in my lap and we'd watch the sun set and I talked about you so much..."

He trailed off and looked deeply into her eyes before he continued

"Then when I found Joy, I thought my life was bearable again. I fell in love with her from the very day I brought her home. She was so...innocent. And so loving. Did you know, she hardly got cranky? She was such a joy, always giggling and smiling...that's why I named her Joy. She brought joy back into my existence."

"Oh Tom, I'm so sorry you had to go through what you did. The moment we realized you'd been sucked into that wormhole, my heart broke. We only stayed a couple of days to make sure we knew where to start to find you. No one ever gave up hope we'd find you."

He gave a big sigh and said to this beautiful woman.

"Please, don't ever leave me...I love you...have since the first time I saw you on Chakotay's ship. Such fire and beauty all in one. I loved to hear you talk and the intensity of your loyalty drew me to you."

For the first time he let a grin grace his face as he continued.

"Even when you called me a pig."

Now she lowered her eyes and said softly

"I should never had called you that...I'm sorry. I was so angry in those days. I had been treated like dirt by so many people and when you came on board I just saw your cocky manner and..."

He drew her closer and whispered

"It okay Lanna, I was a sorry SOB back then...I deserved it."

"No you never deserved it. You are probably the most caring and gentle man I've ever known."

They looked deeply in each others eyes and then Tom leaned in and gently kissed her.

"We should get up before a certain little ball of energy wakes up."

Tom smiled as he thought of his daughter and her unbounded energy in the morning.

"She usually gets me up pretty early by either jumping on my stomach or by just staring at me. I'm not sure how she'd react to finding us in bed together."

B'Elanna grinned at him and said coyly

"Well you could make an honest woman of me."

At first Tom didn't dare believe she had said that. He looked at her to see if she was teasing him, but he saw no hint of that in her eyes, just a longing that he felt was also in his eyes.

"Lanna..."

"Tom don't tell me you haven't thought of it too?"

She hoped beyond hope that he was feeling the same as she was. He was silent for a long time and her heart began to sink. Maybe he didn't feel that way...but last night had been so...she just lowered her head and suddenly her hands became quite interesting as they played with the sheet. Then she heard him say softly

"Lanna will you consent to be my wife...my lover...my soul mate...and Joy's mother?"

And at that moment, her heart soared and she finally knew what it felt like to be truly loved by someone so dear to her. She looked up at him and saw the look in his eyes. They was filled with love,passion and yearning. She felt tears building and she leaned in to capture his lips in a soul searching kiss. When they came up for air they rested their foreheads against each other and she said

"Yes Tom I will. I love you with all my heart."

And it was at that moment that all the pain and anguish he had suffered those first four years on that planet melted away and he felt he was whole again. He had his Lanna and also his Joy. His life was finally complete. He was the happiest man alive.

They has gotten up and checked on Joy, who to Tom's surprise, was still sleeping soundly. They had quietly showered together and then dressed and as Lanna made the bed, Tom had gone to start breakfast. He decided to go all out and replicate some eggs and vegetables for an omelet. He walked to the replicator and called up his account to see if he had any credits left in it. He seemed to remember that he had a few left before he had disappeared and was shocked to see at least six months worth sitting in his account. As B'Elanna came out of the bedroom, he turned to her and said bewildered

"I just checked my replicator account and it can't be right..."

She smiled and said

"It is, we all donated to it when we found you, everyone from the captain to the lower decks."

Tom stood for a moment in utter disbelieve at the notion. She moved to his side and hugged him and said

"You have to get over this notion that the crew don't like you. They all were devastated when we lost you and we all pulled together to find you...you're family and we love you."

He leaned into her hug and finally said

"I guess I'll have to...it's just hard sometimes. I still sometimes remember my early days on Voyager. It was rough."

"I know but that's all in the past now."

He sighed as he kissed her and then after a moment he turned to the replicator and ordered some eggs,tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes, and cheese. He took them to the small kitchen and began peeling the potatoes to make hash browns. B'Elanna offered to help but he told her he wanted to do this for her. She went to the table and sat as he finished the peeling and began to chop up the potatoes. As she watched him, she marveled at his ease in the kitchen. She never would have guessed he could cook, but he seemed completely at ease as he placed the potatoes in a pan with butter to cook. He then began to chop up the tomatoes and mushrooms for the omelet, never forgetting the potatoes making sure they didn't burn. Once he had the vegetables done, he got out a large bowl and cracked the eggs in and then added the ingredients and began to whip the egg mixture together. Once done he got another pan out and melted some butter in it and then added the eggs to cook. He once again checked the potatoes and said

"Almost ready."

"Let me at least set the table."

"Okay."

She got up and got the plates and silverware out and set the table for three. She went to the replicator and ordered a pitcher of fresh squeeze orange juice and placed on the table. Tom had gotten a loaf of bread and began to slice it and toasted it. Just as he had determined that everything was ready and he had turned the heat off, he heard the sound of running feet from the other room.

Turning with a giant smile on his face he came out from the kitchen area just in time to have a bundle of pure energy jump into his arms.

"Daddy!"

Joy began to plant several wet and sloppy kisses on his cheek and he gave her several raspberries on her's. Then he swung her around and said

"How'd my little sweet pea sleep last night?"

"Good daddy. How did you sleep?"

It was then he turned to look at B'Elanna and as his smile broaden he said

"The best."

It was then that Joy noticed someone else was present. She looked at B'Elanna and then back at her daddy and then said to B'Elanna

"Did you sleep with daddy last night?"

B'Elanna's eyes widen for a moment then she smiled as she saw Tom's face turn a deep red as he said

"Joy, what kind of question was that?"

She looked at him for a moment confused

"Well its just that sometimes you'd talk in your sleep and you always called her name, Lanna, and then you'd get all..."

"That's enough Joy, we'll talked about this after breakfast."

He put her down and she said

"I'm sorry daddy."

"It's okay, now go sit down, breakfast is ready."

She walked to the table and shyly looked at B'Elanna and saw a soft smile on her face. Joy lit up and smiled back and climbed up on the chair as Tom brought the two plates for his girls. He went back and got his and they all sat down to a nice breakfast together.

After the breakfast dishes were cleared and cleaned, Tom took Joy and sat down on the couch with her in his lap. B'Elanna had joined them and after a little loving between father and daughter, Tom took a deep breath and said

"Joy, Lanna and I have something to discuss with you and I want you to listen carefully okay?"

Joy looked at him and it was as if she knew something because she looked at him with a small grin on her face, but she said

"Yes daddy."

He looked at B'Elanna and raised an eyebrow but she just watched the girl and gave a small grin of her own.

"Joy, what would you think about having Lanna around all the time?"

He looked at his daughter to gauge her reaction to what he said. He was surprised when she broke out into a large smile and clapped her hands and squealed

"She's going to be my new mommy isn't she daddy!"

She leaped off his lap and landed in B'Elanna's and began giving her the wet and sloppy kisses she given him this morning. B'Elanna only took and hugged her, looking at the completely dumbfounded look on Tom's face. And she just broke out laughing.

"Now wait a minute...how did you know...?"

Tom was completely confused. How would Joy know what he was getting at? Joy turned to him and reached out to encompass both in her hug and said

"Because every since we got here, I wanted it to be true. I wished last night that I would get a mommy and that you would get someone to be with...you've always been so sad and I want you to be happy."

She pulled them both together so each was against her cheeks and she continued

"Now my wish has come true. I will have a mommy and a daddy."

She turned and kissed her daddy and then turned and kissed her new mommy. B'Elanna just smiled and Tom sat there with that same bewildered look on his face.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Sorry its taken so long for an update. I was involved in an online training class for work, and have not had time to think about writing, but I have finished the training and now have appox a week before I am able to post for hours, so I wanted to get this done. I want to thank all who have read and reviewed. It is greatly appreciated!**

Chapter 10

They had taken time to just be together that morning. Tom was amazed at how Joy had taken to B'Elanna so. She had grown up only in his company and now she was chattering to Lanna as if she'd known her forever. He had to smile as he watched his girls. Lanna was sitting there with a little bundle of energy talking a mile a minute and she was enjoying it. It melted his heart to watch...his Lanna was a born mother and he knew if he had ever mentioned it to her before, he'd of ended up in sick bay.

"And on my birthday, daddy took me swimming and we had a picnic lunch and we swam and had fun and he played monster with me."

Joy was breathless with that sentence but she looked at Lanna with glowing eyes as she told her about her birthday.

"Monster?"

Joy nodded and continued

"Yes he would come up from under the water and grab me! It was fun and then he'd toss me up and let me splash down and then he'd do it again."

She leaned a little closer to B'Elanna and said

"Daddy thought I was scared but I wasn't."

Now Tom grabbed her and began to tickle her and said

"Hey, I worked hard at being scary, my monster didn't scare you?"

Joy was giggling as she said

"No daddy I knew you weren't a monster!"

Now both Tom and B'Elanna began to laugh as they both began to tickle her. She squirmed and giggled even more. It was a picture of pure contentment of a family enjoying each other.

They had decided to take Joy on a tour of Voyager and B'Elanna had volunteered to give her a bath and get her dressed. Tom had contacted the captain and had made an appointment to meet with her after shift in her ready room. He was anxious to start the plans to be married. Now that he was back with his Lanna, he didn't want to waste any time.

When the two came back out to the main room, Joy skipped up to him and said

"Look daddy, mommy put these ribbons in my hair. Do you like them?"

Tom looked at his daughter and saw the red ribbons and smiled. She looked adorable to him. She was dressed in blue jeans and a tee shirt that said on the front 'Daddies Little Girl' and her blond hair, which was shoulder length, was done in pigtails with a ribbon on each. Her bright green eyes sparkled as she then showed him her tee shirt

"And look what mommy made for me. She said it was for you too!"

He knelt down and looked at the shirt and said

"I like it and you truly are my little girl."

He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek and then stood and took Lanna's hand and brought it to his lips and gently kissed it and said

"And my little Joy could not have a better mother."

Joy jumped up and down and clapped her hands and said

"Can we go exploring now, huh, can we daddy, can we..?"

Tom just looked at B'Elanna and shrugged his shoulders before he looked down at his daughter and said

"Okay, Sweet pea lets go exploring."

They all walked to the door, and as it opened, Joy reached to take the hand of each of the adults,one on either side of her and began to skip down the hall. They were met by several crew members who either stopped for a moment or just gave the threesome a broad grin. Joy made sure to tell everyone that she had a new mommy, and most of the crew just nodded, but some actually smiled broadly and congratulated the two. The whole crew knew that they had started a relationship before Tom had been lost and it was just a forgone conclusion that they would pick up again now that Tom was back. As the last pair from engineering left and began to whisper between them, Tom turned to B'Elanna and said

"I wonder who will win the pool?"

B'Elanna looked at him and he continued

"Got to speak to Harry...this has his hand written all over it."

B'Elanna was still not sure of what he was talking about so he explained

"Didn't you see how they were looking at us? After all, Har learned from the best. I'd be quite disappointed if he hadn't come up with this."

Now B'Elanna began to laugh as it hit her too. They entered the turbo lift and were on their way to the mess hall. They encountered more sly smiles from crewmen and by the time they made it to the mess, they were both quite sure that there was a betting pool going on. As they entered the mess, Alpha shift had begun to come for lunch so it was almost half full and most present turned to see who the newcomers were. They all began to whisper to each other and watch the new 'family' as they went to see Neelix.

Joy wanted to go meet everyone, but Tom had yet to let go of her hand, so she looked around at the people and waved with her other hand, which B'Elanna had let go off. The crew waved back at her, and she said

"Look daddy, they are waving at me, can I go say hello to them please?"

Tom looked at her and said

"In a moment first I want you to meet Neelix and say hello."

Neelix came out from behind the counter and said

"My but you're a big girl. How are you liking being on Voyager?"

She looked at the Talaxian and said

"You have whiskers and spots. I like them."

Tom was about to admonish his daughter but Neelix just said

"Yes, on Talaxia the spots are considered very handsome and my whiskers are too!"

Joy giggled and said

"Can I touch them?"

She then looked at her daddy to see if she could. But Neelix just said

"Sure you can."

He leaned down so his face was in reach of the child and she lightly stroked his whiskers. He laughed and that made Joy giggle too.

"Oh they are so soft. I like the feel of them."

Joy looked at Neelix and continued

"And I like you too!"

"Well, I like you. And your daddy is a good friend of mine too."

Neelix smiled at her as she grinned at him. Joy took B'Elanna's hand and said

"And this is my new mommy...see she put these ribbons in my hair this morning and she made this shirt for me...see?"

She showed him her ribbons and then showed him her tee shirt. He smiled again and said how much he liked them both. Neelix then looked at Tom and said

"So, what would you like for lunch?"

When Tom hesitated, B'Elanna said

"You know Tom, Neelix has broaden his menu..."

"Yes...yes, while you were gone, I have learned how to prepare many AQ dishes. Today I've prepared a nice vegetable soup with lots of good ingredients."

Tom had smelled the aroma and had thought it smelled pretty good, but he was still a little skeptical of it but B'Elanna said

"No leota root in it."

Neelix now laughed and said

"No I don't use that anymore! We have been able to grow a lot of the vegetables from the AQ and I find they are loaded with all the nutrients you need."

He went back into the kitchen and began dishing up the soup.

"Go ahead and find a table, and I'll bring it to you."

Tom looked at Lanna and she smiled at him. They had not noticed that Joy had moved among the crew and was busy chatting with them all. She was so happy to meet them all that she went to each table excited to show them her hair ribbons and new tee shirt. They had all commented on her new things and she had been thrilled that they had. Now as they turned to find a table, Tom saw that Joy was now at the captain's table happily chatting with both the captain and commander Chakotay. She had perched herself on a chair and kept up an almost non stop chatter. At first Tom was a little nervous that she had gotten that far, but one look at both the captain and Chakotay had eased his worry.

They came over to the table and hear Joy say

"She's my new mommy and look, she fixed my hair with these ribbons and..."

She stopped in mid sentence when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see the face of her father looking down at her. She sweetly smiled at him and said

"Daddy, I was just telling the captain and Kotay about my hair ribbons!"

Tom smiled at her and said

"I'm sure the captain and...Kotay are very interested in your hair ribbons, but its time for lunch and I'm sure that they would like to finish their lunch so..."

Before he could continue, Kathryn said

"Why don't you join us. I was enjoying this conversation."

She winked at Joy who just grinned from ear to ear.

"Yes, join us this is getting to be an interesting talk."

Chakotay also winked at Joy. B'Elanna sat next to Joy, and Tom just pulled another chair up so they were all sitting around the table. Neelix brought the soup and he had also added some freshly baked bread too. Joy was the first to taste the soup and she turned and said

"Thank you Neelix...this is good..."

Once Neelix had gone back to the kitchen, Joy turned to Tom and said

"But I like your soup better Daddy."

Tom looked around to make sure Neelix wasn't close enough to hear her although he could hear a few chuckles from around him. He looked at her and said

"Thank you sweet pea, but what have I told you about being polite?"

He eyed her and she became quiet and then said

"To always say nice things and never say mean things...I'm sorry daddy."

He took and lightly brushed his fingers along her cheek and said

"I know you didn't mean anything about it, but we must always remember to say nice things. Neelix works hard and we want to appreciate his efforts. "

"I will daddy, I promise."

"I know you will sweetie, now finish your lunch."

She smiled at him and began to eat again. They all ate in silence and when Joy had finished she looked at her dad and said

"Daddy, can I go visit everyone please?"

Tom knew that she was anxious to meet everyone and that she truly enjoyed talking to the crew. And they seemed to enjoy talking with her. He looked around and saw that the place was full and then he said

"Okay, but remember be polite and don't hog the conversation, let them speak too!"

He was smiling as he said this, knowing full well how much his daughter could talk.

"And before you go, stay in the mess, no wondering around and take your bowl back to Neelix and thank him for the soup, okay?"

She had stood and now she carefully picked up her bowl and said

"Yes daddy, I will."

He watched as she carefully took the bowl to Neelix. She talked to him a few minutes and then she began wondering through the room stopping and talking to everyone, a sparkle in her eyes and a grin plastered on her face.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Tom was just exiting the turbo lift on his way home when he heard running feet coming towards him. By the sound of the running feet, he knew they belonged to a child, and he was sure he knew who it was, so he stopped and waited, his arms crossed. He tried to look stern, but the twinkle in his blue eyes didn't match the look on his face.

The small body that came around the corner ran right into him and he heard an oomph, as the child sat down on his backside. The boy, who had a blond mop of hair and bright blue eyes looked up and gave Tom a broad grin and said

"Daddy, I can run fast and Joy can't catch me!"

The boy jumped up and was about to take off again, when Tom reached down and scooped up his five year old son and said

"And why are you running through the corridors?"

Before the boy could answer, Tom heard another pair of feet coming and Joy appeared.

"Dad, I'm sorry, Tommy just got out. I only turned my back for a moment, and he ran out."

Joy was their oldest daughter and at sixteen, she was turning into quite a beauty. Her long blond hair was up in a ponytail and her intense green eyes showed her exasperation at her youngest brother. Since Tom and B'Elanna had been married, they had been blessed with three additional children. The twins had the faintest traces of Lanna's forehead ridges, but their youngest, Tommy had none. He had completely taken after his father, same mop of blond hair and the same clear blue eyes. Even his personality was all Tom's, same sunny disposition and if you looked closely into his eyes, the same mischief. The twins, Michael and Katie took more after their mother, same hair and eye color, and both had the hint of the ridges.

Now, Tom looked at his youngest and said

"How many times have we told you not to go out on your own?"

He raised his eyebrows at his son, who suddenly looked contrite.

"I'm sorry daddy, but no one would play with me. Mikey and Katie were too busy with their school project, and Joy wouldn't play with me either!"

He looked at his sister with stormy blue eyes.

Now Joy began to protest

"Dad, I told him I would play with him as soon as I finished my homework, but he wouldn't listen."

In the last ten years, more crew had paired off and gotten married and there were several children on board now. Three years ago, they had started a school for the education of these children. The first child to be born on Voyager, Naomi Wildman, who was now in her mid twenties, had volunteered to teach the school.

Tom now looked at his youngest and said

"You know your sister is in charge while your mother and I are on duty, and we can't have you running around the ship by yourself. And, where is your communicator?"

Tommy looked down and said shyly

"I forgot it...it was on my other..."

Before he could continue, Joy spoke up and said

"It's my fault dad, Tommy spilled his drink and I got him changed, but I forgot to switch his communicator and...oh..."

It was plain she was upset with herself for the oversight. She took her role as big sister to her siblings quite seriously and she was very protective of them.

"I'm sorry daddy, I won't do it again."

Tom smiled at him and said as he began to walk towards their quarters

"Well see that you don't."

He tried to sound stern, but he couldn't. His kids meant everything to him and he was quite content to be a husband and father.

"Now what do you say we get home and I'll read you the next chapter of Treasure Island."

He shifted Tommy to his right hip and he put his free arm around his daughter's shoulders and together they walked back home as Tommy happily told his dad all that had happened from the moment he had left for his shift till now.

B'Elanna had had a long day in engineering and was tired and looking forward to a hot bath. They had, for the last year, been working on modifications on the warp engines and it looked like they were close to getting it to work. If they could generate the extra power, even at short bursts, it would propel them forward like being in a fast current of water, and cut years off their journey home. She, Harry and Joe Carey had been working almost night and day, and she was sure it would work. But now all she wanted to do was take that hot bath and go to bed.

As she approached her quarters, she smiled as she thought of her family. She and Tom had been married for ten years and in that time they had added to their family. They had four wonderful children. She smiled to herself as she thought back to the moment she had told Tom she was pregnant. He had scooped her up and twilled her around and said how happy he was. And when they had found out it was twins, he had told her he was doubly happy. She'd had no doubt that he would be the perfect father, as he adored Joy, and Joy had been ecstatic to learn that she would be a big sister.

She reached their quarters and keyed in the code and the doors opened, and as she walked in quietly, she saw her husband and youngest on the couch,both asleep. Tom was cuddling Tommy and she saw the book open on his chest. She smiled as she looked at the scene. A warm feeling overtook her as she watched her two guys,one her soul mate and he other her little boy. Her little Tommy...he looked like she imagined Tom had at that age. Right now he looked so angelic, but she knew he had a mischievous streak a mile wide and from what Tom said he was just a chip off the old block. She smiled even more as she thought of her husband as a child.

She tip toed over and gently shook her husband's shoulder. He stirred and then opened one eye and looked up at her. Gently she took her son and, as she did, he mumbled something about not being sleepy and not wanting to go to bed, and she knew he had again wrapped Tom around his little finger. Quietly she went into the other room to put her son to bed. After a moment she returned and sank into the couch next to her husband, who had now sat up. He took her in an embrace and softly said

"How'd it go today in engineering? You look beat."

"I am..."

she was silent for a moment,just enjoying the closeness with the man she loved, then she said

"I think we are close Tom...very close."

She snuggled even closer and Tom laid his head against hers. After a moment, he said

"I'm glad to hear that Lanna, I know you guys have been working hard on it."

She sighed her contentment at being held by him and said

"Yeah, we have. I'm glad you decided to get all that information from Joy's ship. Their warp technology was way more advanced than ours."

Tom had scanned all he could of the ship that had brought his little sweet pea to him in the hopes of learning more about her people and the schematics of their ship was interesting, but most was over his head as he was not an engineer, so he just stuck to the things he understood. He had learned her people were a peace loving species and had been very technological but not much more. With his limited UT he could only get bits and pieces of the info and had settled for that. When Voyager had found them, he had remembered the ten padds of info and made sure he took them. He hadn't left anything important behind...even the dogs. They had lost Katie first, and then two months later, Harry. The Doc had tried to help them, but it had been inevitable. When Katie had passed, Joy was ten and Lanna had been eight months pregnant with the twins , and his little sweet pea had cried in his arms for her loss. When Harry died, Joy had cried again and later when Tom and B'Elanna were alone in their bedroom, Tom had cried on her shoulder for the loss. The dogs had kept him sane those four years before Joy had come into his life, and he dearly missed them.

He lightly kissed her temple and said

"I'm just glad you and Joe were able to figure it out...it didn't make much sense to me and I just filed them away."

B'Elanna smiled as she thought of him trying to unravel the mechanics of the alien ship. He was an excellent navigator and his piloting skills were unquestionably better than anyone she'd ever seen, but when it came to engineering skills he was like a kid.

"Well it took us a while, but we finally got the new coils it work properly."

In truth it had taken them over five years of work to get the technology to work with her beloved engines. They had been able to replicate a few of the materials but most had been built the old fashion way, with blood,sweat and tears. They had to wait many times till they could find the right materials and sometimes that had meant having to put aside the project till they did, sometimes for months.

"I think we're ready for our first test. Joe and I are going to present our report to the captain tomorrow at the briefing."

She moved to stretch and Tom got up and turned to take her hand to help her up.

"In the mean time, I think you need your rest...come on, lets go to bed."

She took his hand and stood up next to him and said

"First I need a hot bath, then bed."

He got a sly smile on his face and said

"Room for two in that bath?"

He raised his eyebrows at her and she just smiled at him.

They leaned in to each other, his arm around her shoulders and her's around his waist, as they quietly walked to their bedroom.

TBC

**A/N**

**So sorry for the long delay on this. With everything that's been happening in my life, I haven't had much time to write. I promise to finish this story as I have said before nothing irks me more than to get into a story never finished. For anyone who is also reading my Enterprise story, that will be updated soon. Big mistake to be writing two stories at the same time lol. Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. It is greatly appreciated **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Mr Paris, engage the alpha drive."

Tom's fingers danced over the helm and within seconds, they were traveling through the stream of space that the new drive produced. It was like traveling through a fast moving stream of water or as Tom liked to say it was like traveling through Earth's jet stream. They were only able to engage the alpha drive for an hour each week as it took so much power to run that they needed to disengage it so they would not waste precious resources.

Voyager smoothly rode the stream and Tom was proud of her. He gently ran his fingers over the consul and softly said

"Good girl."

Behind him, Captain Janeway smiled at this and then said

"I take it we are not having any problems with the drive."

Tom turned around and said

"No ma'am everything is working as it should."

He smiled and then turned back to the front screen. He was proud of B'Elanna and her team for finding a way to make this work and he was proud of his daughter Joy for the name of the drive. Joy had been, in the last year, inhaling all the information she could get on the alpha quadrant and she was quite excited to get there. She had spent many an hour after her studies getting all she could on the federation and how it worked. She had many late night discussions with her parents on the history of Starfleet and never tired of the stories of her parents lives. It had become a twice a week ritual for the whole family to sit down and for Tom and B'Elanna to tell stories of their childhood and early life. The kids loved it.

Tom was brought out of his musings when the captain said

"Maintain speed and course for one hour and then disengage the drive and hold position till we can analyze how well the drive did."

She stood and continued

"I'm be in my ready room."

She moved off and all on the bridge turned back to there duties.

Once the hour was up, Tom disengaged the drive and Voyager seemed to shake a bit and then steady. Tom then brought the great ship to a stand still and maintained position. Within moments, the Captain's ready room door opened and she strolled back onto the bridge. As she passed Tuvok's station, she said

"Harry, put me on ship wide com."

Harry said

"Yes Captain."

Once he had done so, he nodded to the captain and she straightened her shoulders and said

"This is the captain, as you know, we have just tested our new alpha drive and it worked perfectly. What we don't know yet is how well it worked. We will analyze the data and once we know the results I will make a ship wide announcement. Senior staff not on the bridge will report to the conference room in fifteen minuets. Captain out."

Harry cut the com link and the captain turned to Tom and said

"Mr Paris, what is our position in regards to where we began this?"

He looked down at his instruments and, after a moment, he said

"We have traveled exactly 2 light years from where we started."

Tom turned in his chair and smiled

"We've taken 2 years off our return trip home."

Kathryn let out a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding and then let a grin spread over her face. They were finally going home and bar any conflict or battle, the rest of the crew would all be here to see the alpha quadrant again.

The Turbo lift doors opened and out came B'Elanna and the doctor. Tom turned and grinned widely at his wife and she smiled back. It was clear she was happy at the way the drive had preformed. The Captain stood and said

"Gentleman, shall we adjourn to the conference room?"

And they all stood and relinquished their posts to there backups and followed the captain.

Tom entered his code and the door to their quarters slide open. He walked in and was immediately tackled by his youngest son, Tommy

"Daddy you're home!"

Tommy was hugging him around his legs and he had to pick him up to keep from falling over.

"Whoa there, and how's my little munchkin?"

B'Elanna's voice said as she entered their main living space

"Your little munchkin has been driving me crazy, asking when you'd be home."

B'Elanna gave Tom a peck on the cheek and then she gave her youngest son some tickling and said

"He's been asking when you would come home every five minuets since I got home."

She ticked his cheeks and Tommy laughed. He was now squirming in his father's arms who now set him down at his feet.

"Daddy, did you run the drive today? How fast did we go? Are we home yet?"

He was breathless after his questions, but his bright eyes were dancing. All the Paris children were caught up in reaching the Alpha quadrant and were forever asking questions on what it was like. Tom looked at his youngest son and said

"Why don't you get your brother and sisters and I'll only have to tell you once."

Tommy nodded and race off to get his siblings. Tom turned to B'Elanna and let out a sigh as he took her into his arms.

"Well never let it be said our little Tommy isn't enthusiastic!"

He nuzzled her cheek and she said

"He's been after me to tell him all about the test and I wanted you to be here to tell him. He hasn't given me a break since I got home."

Now Tom was nibbling her neck and for a moment she let him but as they heard the running feet of their brood approaching, with a sigh they quit their loving and became parents again.

The Paris children all trooped into the main living area with Tommy leading the way. Joy, who was almost eighteen, brought up the rear and was less inclined to run as Tommy was. She smiled at her father and gave him a big kiss.

"Hello daddy"

She said as he gave her a bear hug

"And how's my little sweet pea tonight?"

She returned his bear hug and said

"I've been studying those flight specs you gave me!"

She was turning out to be a fair pilot and Tom was proud of her. With the right training she could be a good pilot. And he felt it was his duty to teach her. Tom sat down on their warn out couch and she settled down next to him. Tommy jumped up on the other side and breathlessly said

"Daddy, tell us about the test!"

Tom looked first at Tommy and then at his twins, Michael and Katie who had sat on the floor and were right at his feet. B'Elanna had moved off to the kitchen area to start dinner but she smiled at the picture of her husband and their children gathered together. There was a look of contentment on Tom's face as he looked at his children, but also a look of pride. He dearly loved his brood and she was so glad that his father had not stamped him in his own image. From what she had heard of Admiral Paris, he was a cold and unforgiving father while Tom was just the opposite, loving,kind, and always ready to be there for their children. She watched as his expression turned to one of teasing as he said

"Awe, you really don't want to hear about that do you?"

The Paris children all protested with that statement as he looked at them with an incredulous expression on his face. B'Elanna had to laugh at his teasing and said from the kitchen

"You're right Tom, they really don't want to hear about that."

She had pulled out last night's leftovers and was now warming them up for tonight. She returned to the main living area and sat in the chair opposite her husband and they both had a look of amazement on their faces.

"Please daddy, please! We do want to know!"

Tommy pleaded. He still wasn't sure that his father wasn't serious, however his older siblings knew their father was teasing.

"You really want to hear all the boring details?"

He said this to Tommy and he answered

"Yes,yes,yes."

Tommy's eyes were shining and his cheeks were glowing.

Tom looked into his face and finally said

"Okay I'll tell you all the boring details, but remember you asked for it."

So for the next twenty minuets, Tom told of all the mornings activities. He especially made it exciting for his youngest boy as he told of how the drive had performed. And Tommy took it in with glowing eyes. He was full of questions and wanted to know everything. And Tom obliged him with every detail.

"Daddy when will we be in the alpha quadrant?"

Tom looked at his youngest and said

"Well at this rate and if nothing goes wrong with the drive, Mr Tuvok estimates we will be within normal sub space communications in four months and then home by seven."

"Wow."

Tommy was thinking hard on this. His brow was set in a thoughtful frown. Then he brightened and said

"Just in time for my birthday!"

They all laughed at that announcement and B'Elanna said as she got up

"Okay, guys its time for dinner so go wash up."

The Paris children all trooped off to clean up, talking excitedly about what lay ahead of them in the AQ.

"Come on Mr Paris, lets get the table set and dinner over with and then after we get the kids to bed we can finish what we were doing."

Tom waggled his eyebrows at her and took on a sly smile as he said

"Lead the way Mrs Paris."

So they went into the kitchen area both anticipating their evening.

TBC

**A/N I had planned this to be the last chapter, but it took on a life of its own and I need one more chapter. I, like many fans, thought that Endgame wrapped up to quickly and would have liked to see the homecoming so it needs more. Please be patient with me as I still have two sessions of Chemo ahead of me and I really need to figure out how each will interact with being home. I will try not to be so long in updating this. I may even take my laptop to Chemo next time and write. It can get boring and I have a five hour session. As always thank you all for reading and reviewing this story.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Today was the first time that Voyager was close enough to contact Star Fleet Command without the help of 'Project Voyager.' For the last two days, all the crew were in high spirits as they anticipated the contact. This meant that they would be in constant contact with home. The morale was the highest it had been since they were thrown into the Delta Quadrant.

The bridge crew was highly excited and the chatter between the bridge crew was animated. The jokes were flying between Harry and Tom, and Kathryn just couldn't ruin their enthusiasm. Chakotay was smiling and even Tuvok seemed less inclined to disapproval.

"So Harry, who are you going contact first?"

He was sure Harry would contact Libby first as he had never really gotten over her and they had talked during their time communicating with project Voyager. Now Harry got a sly smile on his face when he saw Tom wasn't facing him but was watching his consul.

He grinned when he thought of his answer.

"My parents. My mom is looking forward to a message without a time limit."

Harry was grinning at that statement. He knew Tom would make some remark about that. Now Tom turned and Harry just had enough time to put a serious look to his face.

"Harry,Harry,Harry haven't I've taught you anything?"

He looked disappointed at the fact that Harry would contact his parents before Libby. Both the captain and Chakotay were trying hard not to laugh, and Tuvok even had a strange look on his face as he tried to look busy.

Tom was looking from Harry to the captain and then to Chakotay with a thoughtful look on his face. He finally said

"Don't forget to tell your mom that I said hello."

He turned back to his consul to keep his face from being seen. He knew now Harry was pulling his leg. After a moment, Harry said

"You know Tom, you're no fun at all."

He seemed disappointed that he had not gotten a lecture from Tom about how he should contact Libby first. He full well intended that this evening.

"Never kid a kidder Har."

Was all Tom said. Now the people on the bridge laughed with the exception of Tuvok. He'd never let anyone know that he was...amused by the antics on the bridge. Since they had been away these people were family to him and he was especially fond of both Mr Paris and Mr Kim. Not that he'd ever let them know that...he had a reputation to uphold. He now busied himself with his sensors. After a moment he said

"Captain, I believe we are within range of Starfleet. We should be able to contact them now."

The electricity on the bridge jumped in level as they all anticipated the call. Kathryn stood up and then tugged her uniform down. She nodded to Harry and with a click of a button, he opened a frequency to home. He nodded to the captain and she took a deep breath and said

"Starfleet Command, this is Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager how do you read?"

A collective breath was held by all the bridge personnel as they waited for a response. There was a pause and then some static but then it cleared up and they heard a voice say

"USS Voyager, this is Starfleet Command. What is your position?"

Kathryn smiled and then said

"We are apox in sector 5 grid 3 and apox 4 months out. We have been traveling at apox warp 7 and during the last six months have been using the Alpha Drive to cut off time to get home."

Again there was a pause and then they saw a familiar face who said.

"Kathryn, it's good to hear your voice."

Tom perked up at his station as he saw his father. He hadn't realized till now how he had missed hearing that voice. It was something he'd never though he would but now that he was older and wiser, or at least he thought he was wiser, he knew he wanted to rekindle his relationship with his father.

"We estimate it will be apox four months till we will be knocking on Fleet headquarters door."

Kathryn said as she moved around the bridge. It was good to finally have contact with home.

"Great, we look forward to hearing from you."

Admiral Paris looked around the bridge and his eyes landed on his son who suddenly straightened in his chair as if he had come to attention. Old habits never changed. Now he was smiling at his son and he said

"I imagine many of the ship's crew will be anxious to contact home. We have given you priority to do just that. Between 1800 and 2200 hours on Monday and Friday, the sub space frequencies will be open only to you and emergencies."

He again looked at his son and smiled as he continued more softly

"Your mother and sisters are looking forward to your call, as am I. Welcome home son."

Tom's eyes were stinging and he unashamedly wiped his eyes. He must have something in his eye. That was it. But he said just as softly to his father

"Yes sir."

Now Admiral Paris said

"Welcome home...all of you."

As the transmission cut and the familiar star fleet emblem filled the screen, there was a silence on the bridge. It was good to be home...even if it was still four months away, they felt like they were there already.

Tom was anxious that everything was perfect. He was running around their quarters like a chicken with his head cut off. B'Elanna finally grabbed him and said

"Tom, will you settle down. This is just a call to your parents. Everything will be fine."

She was tired just watching him figit. He was trying too hard to please his parents, and she realized he still had the need to have his father's approval. She took him in her arms and hugged him as she said

"Your father will approve of his grandchildren and from what you have told me of your mother, she will too."

B'Elanna reached up and kissed her husband and he suddenly let out a sigh and returned the affection. He cling tight to her as if she were his anchor and said

"I'm sorry...its just that he..."

He trailed off and she continued for him

"I know, he put a lot of pressure on you as a boy, and you think he will be disappointed in you. But you have come a long way since then. Look at all the accomplishments you have achieved."

She looked him in the eyes and dared him to disagree with her. He finally laughed and said

"No ma'am I would never disagree with my beautiful wife!"

They again kissed even though their brood was coming into the main room. As they broke apart they heard Michael whisper to Katie

"They're at it again."

And Katie whisper back

"Can't leave them alone for a minute."

Tommy decided at that moment to launch himself at his parents and he hugged them both as he said excitedly

"Do you think grandpa and grandma will like us?"

Tom had lifted him up and said

"Of course they will...whats not to like about you?"

He took him in his arms and continued

"All my children are worth liking."

He beamed at them all...Joy with her quiet demeanor...his little sweet pea. Michael who loved to read and learn all he could...Katie who's gentle nature was the joy of all who knew her. And Tommy...well he was a whirlwind on little feet, but the happy way about him had endeared him to all the crew and was always a flurry of questions. How could anyone not like his children?

"Okay you guys, I want you all on your best behavior. No reason to give your grandparents the idea that your father and I have raise a bunch of hoodlums!"

B'Elanna said as she got them all situated on the worn couch.

"Daddy will be contacting them shortly and I want you to behave"

The look on her face showed that she too was proud of her brood. Joy took Tommy in her arms and said

"Tommy just settle down. This is the first time we have met our grandparents, and we want to make a good impression on them don't we?"

Tommy stopped squirming and looked up at his big sister and said

"Okay, but its hard not to be excited"

He had a slight frown on his face as he said that. Joy hugged him and then whispered in his ear

"I'm excited too!"

He smiled at that and then turned to face front waiting for his father to contact his grandpa and grandma.

**A/N I guess this story has a life of its own. I had intended this to be the last chapter, but there's still more to tell. Thanks again for all the reviews and for hanging in with me.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They had many contacts with home throughout the months as they headed for home. And no one was happier than the Paris children. They had taken their time to really get to know their grandparents. Tom had mentioned to B'Elanna that his old man had really mellowed in the years he'd been gone. Now that they were back on Earth, they had been debriefed and now were on a six month vacation so that they could all decide what they wanted to do. The former Marquis had been pardoned and were offered a commission in Star Fleet, but at this time they wanted to see what opportunities were available.

Chakotay and many of the other marquis had gone back to Darvon 5 to help with the rebuilding of the colony. Harry and most of the regular Star Fleet officers had decided to stay in Star Fleet and were now all over enjoying the first vacation they had had in well over fifteen years. Harry had decided to spend his off time with his parents and Libby in Hawaii and had sent several messages to Tom and B'Elanna, who were staying with Tom's parents at the Paris estate. And there was a rumor that Captain Janeway would be offered a promotion to Admiral in Star Fleet. Her friends were not sure she would accept the promotion.

The sun was just setting on this summer day and both Tom and B'Elanna were sitting on the lounge chairs set up near the beach that backed the Paris estate. They were enjoying the sunset and watching their children playing near the water's edge with their grandfather. Joy was floating on her back a few feet from shore. Neither of her parents were worried as she was an excellent swimmer, Tom having seen to that. He had taught her young and she had excelled at water sports. The twins, Mike and Katie were sitting with their grandfather digging in the sand as they made a sandcastle. And Tommy was running up and down the beach whooping like an Indian.

Tom chuckled and said

"I remember running up and down the beach just like Tommy, although I don't think I made as much noise."

B'Elanna smiled as she watched her youngest child come running back up the beach and flop down next to his grandpa. He hugged him and then began to talk to his bother and sister.

"I can just see you now running up and down the beach, all wind swept and full of sun."

"Well I guess I was a 'wild one' at that age"

Tom said with a grin.

"You certainly were. Why I can remember how you would come home and your shirt was torn and you'd have a black eye or some such thing."

Elizabeth Paris had joined them and had sat in the other chair.

"Owen thought we'd BBQ tonight. I've got all the stuff ready and now I'm going to rest. By the looks of Owen, we won't be ready to start for at least a half hour."

They all turned to watch Owen playing with his grandchildren. He looked so content. Elizabeth smiled and said

"He seems so content now"

She turned to Tom and continued

"He was so devastated when he thought that you were lost...maybe dead, but once he knew you were all alive and that you would be coming home, he became obsessed with bringing Voyager home. Now to find out he has more grandchildren, he's ecstatic."

She again looked at her husband,who was now walking towards them with all four grandchildren in tow. Tommy was busy chattering. He was perched on his grandpa's shoulders. The twins were each holding his hands and Joy brought up the rear, her towel wrapped around her waist. The picture of the group made both Tom and B'Elanna smile. Owen deposited Tommy on the ground and said

"Liz did you start the coals?"

"Yes dear, they should be ready in ten minutes."

She stood to walk back with him as Tom and B'Elanna rose to follow. Tommy rushed up to his dad and said

"Did you see me running along the beach daddy? Did you?"

Tom scooped up his youngest and said

"I certainly hear you! You were whooping like a wild Indian!"

He ruffled his son's hair and followed the group up to the house. Joy, who brought up the rear now said

"You certainly did kick up a lot of sand. I'm surprised there was any left on the beach."

She was smiling as she looked at her youngest sibling. He was also grinning. He turned to his sister and said

"Aw you know there is plenty of sand and no matter how much I kicked up it would never be all of it."

"Really?"

She said with a skeptical look on her face. They had arrived at the patio and now Owen checked the coals in the BBQ. They were almost ready and he and Liz went into the kitchen to get the meat, hamburgers for the kids and steaks for the adults. Elizabeth followed him with several foil wrapped ears of corn to BBQ. As she passed Tom, she smiled and said

"I remember that you loved corn on the cob when you were a child, I hope you still like it."

Tom nodded and said

"Sure do mom, nothing better than corn on the cob, smothered in butter and a little salt to boot."

Owen had placed the meat on the grill and then placed the hood down and turned to sit down. Elizabeth and B'Elanna had gone back into the kitchen to do the finishing touches on the rest of the meal. They had made potato salad,coleslaw, and for desert, a large chocolate cake. Then they placed the sides in the refrigerator and came back out to join the rest. Tommy was helping his grandpa with the BBQ and the twins were setting the table. Joy was talking to her father.

"So you see dad, I want to start the academy this fall. I passed all my entrance exams and I can start this fall."

She was looking at her dad with a pleading look on her lovely face. Tom knew that she had wanted to join Star Fleet since she was eleven. She had fallen in love with Star Fleet and the stories Tom had told her. She had shown a great interest in flying and deep down Tom was proud of her aptitude to piloting. She had the same spirit as he had and he knew she would some day make an excellent helmsman. He looked into her face and knew he could refuse her nothing. Finally he smiled and said

"You know that Star Fleet Academy will be hard and that its four years of hard study and hard work. Do you still want to try this?"

He knew full well what her answer would be.

"Oh yes,yes. I know I can succeed and make both you and mom proud of me!"

Tom hugged his daughter and said

"You already have sweet pea, you already have."

The stars were twinkling and nightfall had come an hour ago. The adults all sat on the patio and the tiki torches were lit and they cast a soft light over the group. Tommy has fallen asleep in his father's arms and Joy had just went inside to help the twins get ready for bed. Then she would return for Tommy. Now Owen said

"You know, Joy can live here if you both want to get back into space. That way she can attend the academy and you won't have to worry about her."

"yes we would love to have her here."

His mother said. Tom was glad that his parents were so willing to take Joy, but he had some news to tell them that he was sure they would be happy about. He turned to look at Lanna and she smiled at him. He turned back to his parents and said

"Well, that would be great, but we both have decided to stay on Earth. Both Lanna and I have been offered teaching opportunities at the academy and we decided to accept it."

He finished with a smile. Deep down he knew his parents didn't want them to accept positions on a starship.

"Oh Tom...B'Elanna, we are so glad. I must say that I didn't want you out in space again."

His mother looked at Owen with a smile and continued

"Your father won't admit it but he didn't want you out there again either."

"Now Liz, the boy has the right to decide for himself."

He looked at his son with a relived expression and continued

"I am glad you both decided to stay on Earth though. With your talents, the cadets will have the best teaching."

He was smiling broadly and his eyes were twinkling. It was plain he was happy with the decision that both Tom and B'Elanna had made. Joy had just taken Tommy up to bed and Tom took Lanna's hand as he said

"Well when we were approached by Star Fleet to accept the teaching assignments, we were glad to. B'Elanna has a lot to give to the young engineers. After all, she's the best!"

Tom looked at his wife with pure adoration. She smiled and said

"With my fly-boy teaching all those young cadets, how can Star fleet lose?"

She leaned over to place a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and said

" I don't know about that but I do plan to pass on my...unusual expertize."

He turned to his parents and continued

"Now we just need to plan on where to live."

Now his father looked at his mother with a small grin on his face and said

"Son do you remember that five acre tract that adjoins this estate?"

"Sure, I use to go there whenever I wanted to think. It was so peaceful and that meadow that was next to the beach was my special place. I always thought that when I grew up that I'd..."

He trailed off and looked at his parents. They were both grinning at him. He just stared at them so his mother spoke up

"Tom, your father bought that land when you were only ten. He knew how much that you loved it."

"You see son, we'd hoped that when you grew up that you'd want to build a house on that land and that you'd want to live there...raise a family there..."

Tom was dumbfounded as he said

"Dad...you did that for me? Even with all the trouble I caused you and mom..."

His father raised his hand and said

"That's all in the past and forgotten. Your mom and I are very proud of the man you turned out to be. Besides with your sisters and their family's living so far away, we hardly ever get to see them. If you accept this gift, you can begin building right away. You all can stay here and when you move into your new home...well...your mom and I have other motives..."

Now his mom spoke up

"What your father means is that our grandchildren will be close and we can see them."

Tom was still speechless so B'Elanna answered for them both

"We would love to have you both as neighbors. We accept."

Tom finally found his voice as he softly said

"Thanks mom...dad."

Both Elizabeth and Owen Paris smiled broadly. They knew this was a new beginning.

Epilog

The Paris family stood in front of their new home. It was situated in the meadow under large shade trees about five hundred feet from the beginning of the beach. They could hear the sound of the surf from here and Tom had made sure both the master bedroom and Joy's room faced the rear and the ocean.

It wasn't a large house like his parents, but it had everything they needed and they all loved it. Now they stood in front and just looked at it,each with their thoughts. Finally Tom said

"Okay guys...we're home. Not only are we home on Earth, but we are standing in front of our very own house and I'm glad to say that all of your input to the design is what makes this our home."

He looked at each of his children...Joy...his little sweet pea. Now she was a young woman and starting the academy in fall. She had saved his sanity and would always be his little sweet pea...Michael...his studious one...he knew that whatever he tackled he would succeed. He was a walking encyclopedia...Katie...his little gentle soul...she was kind to everyone and brought sunshine into everyone's life...and Tommy...his whirlwind...he was always running...but his heart was made of gold and he had revitalize his grandpa. Many a day they were together doing odd jobs.

"Now remember that we have people coming over tonight for a housewarming and BBQ so please kept the house straight."

B'Elanna said as the kids started towards the door. Tommy asked

"Is uncle Harry coming?"

"Yes and uncle Chakotay,and Aunt Kathryn and a whole lot more, so I want you all to be on your best behavior."

"We will."

They all said and started up the steps. B'Elanna started after them but Tom stopped her. She turned to her husband with a curious look and he said

"Lanna...This is our first home and I just want to enjoy it with you alone for a moment."

B'Elanna leaned into Tom and hugged him. This was a special moment for them both. For a moment they just stood there enjoying the closeness of each other. Then with a sigh, Tom said

"We're home Lanna. Come on,lets go in."

They walked up the steps with there arms around each other and into their new home.

The End

**A/N**

**Well there it is. I hope you like it. I am so sorry that it took so long to finish this story, but like I've said I hate unfinished stories so I had to finish this one. As to my cancer, I have finished both chemo and radiation(2 sessions) and now I just need to heal inside from the radiation for them to get a good ct scan. The Dr did say that it appears that the tumor has shrunk and I'm hoping that I will be free of the cancer. Wish me luck!**


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